Legend of the DemonKiller Story 1
by gobalbucs
Summary: Sesshomaru, Koga, InuYasha, and Naraku are in school in Fuedal Japan. They as well as a few OCs share an interesting friendship but Naraku holds a dark, dangerous secret that has been passed down since the dawn of time. Full summary inside.
1. Prologue: A Never Ending Cycle

**A/N****: ****Hello ****and ****welcome ****to ****Legend ****of ****the ****DemonKiller! ****I ****finally ****found ****the ****prologue ****so ****here ****it ****is!**

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><p><span>Prologue<span>: A Never-Ending Cycle

One dark night, underneath the light of the full moon, four stealthy figures were seen leaping high over the tree tops. There was a man, a dark man, a man so evil, that Hell itself, spat him back out. He was being pursued by three other men. When the shade of moonlight shone itself upon the chase, it was visibly clear that the man being chased was none other than the DemonKiller himself. The three men following him were known as God's Demons, each one clad in his own element. The eldest, the demon of blood and fire- Ketsueki, the middle, the demon of earth and poison- Suppai, and the youngest, the demon of water and storm- Gogyou. The DemonKiller, the demon of illusion and death, his name was Shuurajou. The four demons were running and leaping towards a large castle- Shuurajou's castle.

"Ketsueki!" Came Suppai's panicked voice. "His castle is just up ahead! We must catch him before he gets there first!"

"Suppai, my brother," Ketsueki replied. "We _will _catch him. However, we may not all survive. If it comes to that, I just want you to know that it was a pleasure to fight by your side. As your brother and your friend, I love you."

"As I too," Gogyou agreed.

"We waited centuries for this moment. Once he is dead, we can let the valley sleep in peace once more… at least for another 100 years. No matter what happens or who perishes, we must not be deterred from our one true goal- to destroy that Youkai. It is our sworn duty, as God's Demons."

"You mean our _punishment_," Suppai countered. Ketsueki did not reply. He knew that deep down, this WAS punishment. Punishment for a horrible crime committed millennia ago, a crime that the gods refused to let go of and to show mercy for. _When __will __this __horrible __cycle __of __suffering_ _end? _He thought painfully.

The demons were making their way towards the castle, when Shuurajou dropped out of sight as he leaped down a rather large, deep gorge. God's Demons followed him in a relentless pursuit. They refused to let him disappear now. They were still able to track his scent and they continued their hunt to the castle. In no short of ten minutes, God's Demons reached Shuurajou's castle, however Shuurajou himself, was nowhere to be seen.

"Damn, where the hell is he?" Gogyou yelled in frustration. God's Demons looked all over the outside front of the castle and were about to move their way inside, when they began to smell sulfur. In a matter of half seconds within smelling the flammable substance, there was a deafening explosion and the whole front yard of the castle went up in flames.

"HOLY CRAP!" The three demons cried. They began to move away from the flames, and with the sickening strong smells of smoke and burning sulfur that was now clouding their sensitive noses, it was no wonder they did not notice him until it was too late…

It took less than a second.

Two of the three demons fell silently to the ground like feathers as a swift black shadow draped itself over them, their impact on the ground making not a sound either.

One remained.

He turned slowly, already knowing what happened yet hoping the subtle scent of death that invaded his nostrils had belonged to an unlucky rodent caught in the initial blast. He was not mistaken.

His eyes laid upon the horror of his two brothers lying motionless on the ground, their hearts torn out. They trailed upward, slowly growing more menacing and insane as his now red irises came to rest upon the face of the man who took his brothers' lives- Shuurajou. Shuurajou was smiling at him, holding each of the demon's brothers' hearts in each hand, cradling them as if they were precious jewels. The last of God's Demons stared in open mouthed horror as he could do nothing to stop the oncoming flames from engulfing the bodies of his brothers, slowly reducing them to piles of ashes. The demon finally tore his eyes away from the horrible sight, and found Shuurajou's. Shuurajou stared back at him, the shadow of flames dancing upon his face, illuminating his features and casting an eerie glare on his black eyes. They showed nothing- no remorse or sadness over what he had done only empty chasms of darkness.

"…You…killed them…" the demon slowly mouthed as though he were explaining to a three year old his mistake in stealing a cookie from the jar.

Shuurajou's smile never left his face, but something did enter his eyes- a look of pure ecstasy pushed its way up the deep chafts of his bottomless pupils.

"You killed them," the demon explained again. "You bastard, you KILLED THEM! I'LL TEAR YOU APART!" The demon lunged at Shuurajou.

"You shouldn't be so reckless…Ketsueki," Shuurajou advised as he easily sidestepped his leap. Ketsueki had to push up hard with his hands as they made contact with the ground in order to avoid colliding with the wall of flames as they licked their way in his direction. Once Ketsueki was back safely on the ground, he turned to face the mercenary of his brothers' deaths. Flames of hatred burned within his crimson eyes as he glared into the now emotionless eyes of the devil, Shuurajou.

"You're DEAD, Shuurajou! No longer will you get away with centuries of meaningless slaughter! This all ends now, once and for all!" Ketsueki announced as he tried to regain his composure.

"I think not," was Shuurajou's reply as he turned quickly, and swiftly headed for the entrance of his castle.

"You will not escape!" Ketsueki declared as he followed Shuurajou into his castle. _I __will __avenge __my_ _brothers __and __everyone __else __that __you __thoughtlessly slaughtered_ Ketsueki thought as he turned his head and stared back at the piles of ashes that were once his dear brothers with a look of such deep sorrow, that it would make the Weeping Woman want to wrap him in an embrace to comfort him. He disappeared after Shuurajou into the dark interior of the castle.

About twenty minutes and not a second later, the castle exploded. Flames licked their way up the walls of the exterior and all of the surrounding trees and shrub were burned down. With every eye of the demons and humans that had watched the castle go up, not a one witnessed Shuurajou or Ketsueki leaving the castle. The night was silent, nothing in or around the castle stirred. Just as Ketsueki had promised his brothers, everything was at peace again.

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><p><strong>AN****: ****Whew****…****glad ****I ****found ****it ****hehe. ****Anyway ****I ****hope ****you ****guys ****enjoyed ****the ****prologue ****(especially since ****I ****had ****fun ****typing ****it ****:D) ****So as you probably ****noticed there is an oxymoron in here: God's Demons. This was intentional ****and it will all be explained in the chapters to come. Don't feel stupid or ****anything if you don't ****understand what's going on or ask me what this all means and what it has to do with InuYasha ****because it will all be ****thoroughly explained I promise. The full summary for this story will be in ****the next chapter just as a heads up. So I hope this has encouraged you to ****keep reading and ****that you will continue to like it. Reviews please! :D**


	2. Chapter 1: Kashikoi's Demon Academy

***DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY AFFILIATED CHARACTERS/SCENES/WORDS/ETC. THEY BELONG TO RUMIKO TAKAHASHI- I ONLY OWN THE****ONES THAT I HAVE MADE UP!**

**A/N: HEY EVERYONE! Not that you guys really give a rat's hat but this is my first fan-fic :) ****This is a fan-fic about some of the InuYasha gang however this is set when they are teenagers! Sesshomaru, InuYasha, Koga, Naraku, AS WELL AS ****some OCs and they are: Lian, Shakudo, Moku, Yumi, Sumurai, Kihan, Niomi, and Hirota. These guys are the main characters really. Some more OCs ****though less common in the fic are: Kashikoi, Katatsumuri Sensei and Tekkei sama. Some other InuYasha characters: InuTaisho and Izayoi. ****So like I said, this is where basically, the demons are in school…so young… Anyways, I will specify their age when it's appropriate, (in this one, ****they are 12, yes, 12! Well except for InuYasha and Hirota- they are 10) and the basic gang starts out with Sesshy, Koga, InuYasha, Hirota, ****Sumurai, Niomi, Shakudo, and Moku. **

**Hirota is InuYasha's best friend and he is also a half demon. He and Moku (full demon) are bear demon brothers. Sumurai and Kihan are full ****demon sisters and they are lioness demons. Their mother, Tekkei sama, is the most powerful demon in the whole country (yes she is loads more ****powerful than InuTaisho -GASP-) and their pride is called the Lajali. Lian is also a half demon (sea serpent specifically) BUT he is one of Sesshy's ****closest friends. How the heck can that be? Well Lian doesn't come into the picture until they are 13 so that will be explained. Kashikoi is one of ****InuTaisho's greatest friends; he is a full blooded dragon demon and is the most powerful demon next to Tekkei. He is the founder, principal of the ****school as well as its science teacher. Niomi and Naraku are cousins who share a very disturbing, very dangerous secret. ****Niomi is a full blooded spider demon while Naraku is still half :P And finally, Shakudo is a full snake demon. So I ****think I shall get on with the actual story telling since you guys are probably bored with all this writing. Wow… this is one long A/N and I apologize ****but there will be more of these and will most likely not be much shorter than this so without further ado…enjoy!**

**Warning: Most characters will be…well…_OUT_ of character so… hope you won't mind! Also, crude language/violence. **

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><p><span>Chapter 1: Kashikoi's Demon Academy<span>

"OI! SESSHOMARU! GET UP YOU LAZY SACK! THERE'S A COP AT THE DOOR AND HE'S GOT A WARRANT!" InuYasha screamed at his blissfully sleeping elder brother, who then sits up in a panic.

Sesshomaru is facing opposite of InuYasha when he says: "-mumble- Uh…just tell them…"

"Sesshomaru I'm over here" InuYasha alerted him.

"Oh," Sesshomaru turns to him. " -mumble- I was at home…when it happened…I know nothing…-mumble- about what they are arresting me for... -mumble-" He then falls back asleep.

InuYasha then goes to the other side of his brother's bedroom and drags over a giant rock (that for some reason was in his room) and then proceeded to drop it upon Sesshomaru.

BAM! "OH FUCK!" Sesshomaru pushed the giant boulder off of him, picked it up again, then began to chase InuYasha with it. "COME HERE YOU LITTLE SHIT!" He yelled. "MOOOOMMM!" InuYasha yelled as he ran down the stairs of their home and into the kitchen where Izayoi and InuTaisho where eating breakfast.

They ran around the kitchen table while the two parents blissfully ignored them as if doing so would somehow make them disappear. Finally, InuTaisho stood up, got in between his two sons, grabbed InuYasha by the collar and put a hand to his other son's chest to prevent him from continuing his chase.

"Can't you two go _one_ morning without physically assaulting each other?"

Both boys just grumbled.

He let them go. Well, I'm off. I will see you all in another three weeks or so." He hugged his sons then his wife and kissed her. "Be good," he sternly ordered his sons. InuTaisho left the house and took off on his pelt.

InuYasha and Sesshomaru both got ready for school and were out the door in about 30 minutes after their father left. Izayoi stood at the door and wished them a good day.

Along the way to school, they picked up Koga, then Sumurai and her sister, and Shakudo. It was a good 50 minute walk until they reached their school- Kashikoi's Demon Academy, where demons and half demons alike from ages 6 to 18 come to learn. They learn academics (math, science, language, history, etc.) and they learn lifelong skills. (fighting, defense, etc.) The building is large and very palace-like looking with five floors that include a large gym/pool, track, cafeteria, and green fields for sports.

The gang met up with Moku and his younger half demon brother, Hirota just outside of the school. While InuYasha and Hirota were chatting amongst themselves, Sesshomaru and his gang were comparing schedules that were handed out to them once they had entered the building. As it turns out, they all had the same classes, same teachers, and at the same times. They go as follows:

1st Period: Defense- Katatsumuri Sensei

2nd Period: Fencing- Shumaru Sensei

3rd Period: Science- Kashikoi Sensei

4th Period: Physical Education- Lena Sensei

Lunch

5th Period: Offense- Vienna Sensei

6th period: History- Ijuuin Sensei

7th Period: Math- Yuri Sensei

8th Period: Japanese- Gogi Sensei

9th Period: Swimming- Rengu Sensei

"Geez look how much physical activity we're gonna get this year," Sumurai noticed.

"Well we did ask for fencing and swimming as electives," Moku reminded them.

"Eh, we are gonna be extremely fit by the end of the year," Koga observed.

"And extremely tired," Sesshomaru countered.

Kihan met up with Niomi, her best friend, and the two of them walked off to their own classes because unlike Sesshomaru and his gang, they were 14 and thus, had different classes. InuYasha and Hirota went off to their own classes too. Sesshomaru and his friends walked down the hallway and up two flights of stairs to their first class- defense with Katatsumuri Sensei. Along the way, they wondered if the school had finally made her change her approach to student punishment for disobedience…

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><p><strong>That's the first chapter! I hope you guys like it so far and that you will continue to read it. I promise you there will be more interesting chapters <strong>**coming up- this one may have been kinda boring to you guys. If so then I apologize but things will get better, I promise. **

**Reviews please! C****onstructive criticism welcome but no flames please.**

**A/N**: There are meanings to most of the names in this fic. Here are some of them:

Sesshomaru: Killing Perfection

InuYasha: Dog Demon

Sumurai: Smile

Kihan: Model

Shakudo: Scale

Kashikoi: Wise

Katatsumuri: Snail


	3. Chapter 2: NO EATING IN MY CLASSROOM!

**A/N****: Hiya guys! So here is chapter 2! This one is going to be relatively short (most of them probably will be) it's mostly just drabble. I forgot to****mention that Ayame is in this fic too she just comes in a little bit later. And Katatsumuri Sensei is actually a slug demon even though her name ****means "snail." Eh…whatevs. Anyway, most things are going to be speeding along here but I can't honestly say that I have a schedule for these ****updates since my life is pretty irregular but I will try to update asap. Chapter lengths are pretty irregular too I can definitely say that some will be ****very long and some will be pretty short, like this one :P Enjoy!**

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><p><span>Chapter 2: NO EATING IN MY CLASSROOM! <span>

Sesshomaru, Koga, Shakudo, Moku, and Sumurai made it down the third floor hallway and into Katatsumuri's classroom.

"Aww man…" Koga groaned as he and his friends took in the sight of the classroom. On the back wall and both side walls, there were multiple doors lined up in two rows. Every door was made of wood but was decorated in a different style or color. One of them was rainbow colored. The group could see that, no, Kashikoi had not reprimanded Katatsumuri for her approach to punishment.

Koga sat on the far right in the middle of five rows of desks, next to him was Sesshomaru, then Sumurai, then Shakudo, and then Moku. They began to do little things to keep them occupied while awaiting their instructor to show up.

When the bell finally rang, the whole room had been filled and Katatsumuri Sensei appeared. She was very, very ugly indeed. Her skin was rubbery and green with a yellow tint, she wore a large, white kimono, and had her hair done up in a large bun. When she talked, she spoke with a very slow, very exaggerated drawl.

"Goood morrrnninngg, claaass," she greeted her students. "Forr those of youu who havve nott haad me yett, these arre the ruulles that I expecct youu to followw. Firrstt off, noo tallkkinng whille sommonne ellsse is talkkinng."

Koga raised his hand. "Does that include…?"

Katatsumuri then grabbed Koga, lifted him out of his seat, and began to run towards one of the back doors. Then in a very thick, masculine voice, she yelled: "NO TALKING IN MY CLASSROOM!" She tossed Koga through a black painted door. Wood splinters flew everywhere. Sesshomaru shook his head while pretty much the rest of the class howled in a fit of laughter. _Yep,_ thought Sesshomaru,_ this is going to be just as entertaining as last year._

"Secconnd rulle, noo eaattinng. Noww wouulld anyyonne carre forr sommee suushhii?" She politely asked the class.

All of sudden, Koga was back in his chair looking completely unharmed, as though he was never tossed through a door, and he rose his hand. "I'll eat one," he said while the whole class gasped. He walked over to Katatsumuri and took a piece from her and proceeded to eat it.

"Howw's itt taastte?" She asked him. "It's a delightful taste sensation," Koga replied.

Then Katatsumuri Sensei picked Koga up again and yelled: "NO EATING IN MY CLASSROOM!"

This time, Koga was thrown through a red and blue striped door about four doors to the right of the first one he was thrown through. The whole class bellowed in laughter once more. Even though this wasn't the first time this whole chain of events had happened, it still never ceased to bring tears of laughter to the students' eyes. Koga had done this same thing every year they had Katatsumuri Sensei for defense and every year went like that. Koga was the class clown and the best one in the whole school but to put it simply- he was just an idiot. He created a whole new meaning to the word, "stupid."

Katatsumuri Sensei continued her list of classroom expectations without further incident. Although once she began her third rule, Koga once again appeared back in his seat looking uninjured. No one quite understands how he does this but every time Koga is asked that question he just simply states: "Idiots don't get hurt."

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><p><strong><span>AN: **This was chapter 2 folks! I hope you enjoyed it :D

Just to clear up any confusion, Katatsumuri Sensei punishes her students by tossing them like footballs (no matter how large or small the student is in size o_o) through one of her many wooden doors that line the side and back walls of her classroom. Can you see why everyone was hoping that Kashikoi had stepped in and reprimanded her of her punishment system?

Reviews please. :)


	4. Chapter 3: The Legend of the DemonKiller

**A/N****: Hello all! Welcome to chapter 3! I realized that I forgot to post basic descriptions of everyone so ****here they are! (If you don't care about this**

**then move on :P)**

**Sesshomaru****: **Just like in show; however NO armor; NO pelt; just a simple white kimono with red patches; NO swords; shorter hair

**Koga****: **Just like in show; however NO sword; the furs are a lighter brown color; shorter ponytail

**Sumurai****: **Yellow sun in the middle of her forehead; long blond hair; sapphire eyes; lavender kimono with blue patches; bronze boots

**Kihan****: **Yellow sun in the middle of her forehead; sapphire eyes; lavender kimono with light yellow patches; bronze boots; long blond hair

**Niomi****: **Long, curly black hair; pointed ears; red eyes; dark purple kimono with black patches

**Shakudo****: **Long black hair; dark blue kimono with white patches; dark blue eyes; fangs sharp enough to break adamant

**Moku****: **Back-length dark brown hair; light brown eyes; scar on his chin that stretches up his left cheek; white kimono with dark green patches;

black boots

**Hirota****: **Back-length dark brown hair; brown bear ears on top of his head; white kimono with light green patches

**InuYasha****: **Just like in show; however NO sword; shorter hair

**Tekkei Sama****: **Long blond hair; sapphire eyes; dark lavender kimono with light blue and dark red patches; yellow sun in the middle of her forehead;

long violet and silver obi, bronze boots, a sword at her left hip in a black and yellow sheath

**Kashikoi Sensei****: **Long black hair in a ponytail held with a silver ribbon; silver eyes; black kimono with maroon patches; long grey obi; silver boots;

three orange lightning bolts that stretch horizontally across both cheeks; grey swirl of wind symbol on his forehead

**Katatsumuri Sensei****: **Long brown hair usually done up in a bun held with chopsticks; green kimono with dark green patches; an even darker green

obi; brown eyes; black boots

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><p><span>Chapter 3: The Legend of the DemonKiller <span>

Sesshomaru and his friends made it through Katatsumuri Sensei's class, no problem. When history rolled around, they learned that their first unit will be on the history of one of the world's most haunting, terrifying, and darkest legend of all. It was a legend that wove itself around quite a few unlucky demons and turned their entire lives into a constant state of living hell. These male and female demons quickly became ones to fear in their eras and each one made history as one worst than the last. A tale of these murderous, devious creatures and their conquerors, three demons of male and female, full demon and half, dog, lion, and puma, and their vicious cycle that will never cease until the end of time, and all because of a simple misunderstanding that had occurred a few thousand years before the present time. This was, the Legend of the DemonKiller.

Ijuuin Sensei, their history teacher, passed out their fairly large textbooks and told his class to open them to page 20. Upon turning the pages, they saw the head line of the unit: Legend of the DemonKiller, which was broken into chapters. There was an introductory chapter that had the entire legend explained to the fullest detail- as to how it all began and more. Ijuuin Sensei began reading the chapter aloud to his class.

"_The legend that arose, centered on the DemonKiller, is by far, the darkest, most heartbreaking legend that has ever made its way into this realm. It is a tale of __tragedy, bloodshed, absolute power corrupting, and above all, friendship._

_The story begins about 3500 years ago... it all began with four demons. Half of them were pureblood and the other half were merely hanyou. However, this __mattered not to them, for they were the greatest of friends. There was a full dog demon, his name was Ketsueki and he was a demon of blood and fire. There __was a full lion demon by the name of Suppai and he was a demon of earth and poison. One of the half demons was half puma and he was a demon of water and __storm. The final demon was half spider and he was called Naraku. He was a demon of illusion and death. The four were as close as they could be and life for them_  
><em>was pretty easy. They had each other to rely on and the half demons had their full demon friends to back them up. Most of the time however, it was not <em>_necessary because Gogyou and Naraku were extremely powerful for half demons. Besides, any demon or human with half a brain would know not to_ _mess with __any of them._

_Yes indeed, life was great. They had it made and they knew it. However, even God runs out of blessings- it was just unfortunate the way it all turned out. __Happiness isn't eternal and neither are most friendships- that is what our demons found out._

_The starting point for the chain of horrific events soon to come was the battle between the Western Lords and our group of friends. There were three lords: The __dog lord, the Panther lord, and the serpent lord. Our friends had stumbled upon a brawl that had already been occurring between the lords and they decided to __take advantage of all the confusion and join in._

_It was foolish. _

_The battle dragged on for hours and finally, the three lords were beaten. All three laid dead and Ketsueki, Suppai, and Gogyou surveyed the damage. They had __killed all three of the western lords! But… where was Naraku?_

_They looked all over and finally found him- under the body of the dog lord. He was unconscious but they managed to gently pull him out from under the massive __demon. Only then did they realize how gravely injured he was. He was colored rose red from head to foot and gashes could be seen just underneath those lovely __stains. Everyone else had been injured somewhat but Naraku's injuries were by far the worst, as a matter of fact, they were fatal._

_They made a camp of the battle grounds and tried desperately to heal his wounds but to no avail. Were they really going to lose their best friend? Not if they __could help it. There was one last thing that they could do for him but it would be extremely dangerous. They could attempt to completely rejuvenate him by __pouring all of their Youkai energy into him, of course, only Ketsueki had the power to do this. This is dangerous because for a hanyou, having the blood of a __human means that their bodies are not as strong and often can't put up with the stress that a Youkai can, which in this case, includes Youkai blood. It could __very easily poison Naraku, but the boys were stubborn and foolish- they would rather risk poisoning Naraku than losing him._

_Ketsueki began the ritual in transferring his blood into Naraku. The whole process was very strenuous and painful and took about two hours to complete. Once __he was done, Naraku's body began to glow a dark purple aura. Finally, he awoke to find his three best friends hovering over him looking as though they __were on __Death's Doorway. He also realized that he was feeling very strange- feeling so much more powerful than he used to be- which was strange. __Naraku __looked down at himself and realized that all his wounds had disappeared and then he figured it out- Ketsueki had bestowed upon him the power of a true __Youkai. He couldn't be more grateful for what they had done. No longer would he be the one that needed the most care after a battle, the one who constantly __needed backup – he would no longer be weak._

_His friends were very pleased with themselves. Nothing went wrong, so maybe the gods decided to grant them one last wish- or did they? _

_As time went on, Naraku got more and more powerful but he also grew more violent and angry. The change was so gradual however, that his friends did not __notice it until it was too late. Now the hand of Fate decided to strike back, and take Naraku away from them forever._

_On their way towards their home, they had to cross through a dense forest. Normally, any demon in their right mind would avoid this forest because it was __home to dens of cat demons, which at the time were the most powerful. They were a couple of miles away from home when he struck. _

_Naraku lashed out at Gogyou, who fell to his knees. Naraku's eyes flashed red and then he attacked Suppai who afterwards crumpled into a heap. This barely __took two seconds and before Ketsueki could turn around, he too fell to his knees when something slashed its enormous claws into his back. The three demons __looked up in alarm to see their best friend standing over them, smirking. His eyes were glowing a deep crimson and his entire body was covered in a dark violet __aura that sparked insanity and danger. It was then that Ketsueki realized what had happened. The blood of the Youkai was too much for Naraku's body to handle __and it had been slowly poisoning him. It was not noticeable at first but eventually, Naraku's body and mind began to succumb to the demon blood and he __became __someone else- someone far more menacing and evil. _

_Naraku thoughtlessly and carelessly moved in for the kill, forcing Ketsueki to do something he had once hoped he would never have to do- he tried to hurt __Naraku. He guarded his attacks then sent one of his own- his talons of blood. Using his own blood, he created large talons that soared at Naraku and crashed __into him. _

_Gogyou and Suppai regained c__onsciousness __and watched with horror along with Ketsueki, watching Naraku's wounds immediately close and heal as though they __were never there to begin with. All three demons attacked their friend feeling remorse; Naraku however, attacked back not feeling the slightest emotion of guilt. _

_Naraku may have been much more powerful than he used to be, but that didn't mean he was able to completely overpower his friends. Ketsueki, Gogyou, and __Suppai managed to beat back Naraku and make him retreat over the high tops of the forest trees and disappear into the skyline. _

_His friends watched him go. Just like that, they had lost one of their greatest friends and all because they were selfish and wanted him to live. They had no idea __the price that they all had to pay in order for their wish to be granted, but this was not what they had in mind. If they knew that this would have happened, __they __never would have been so foolish as to revive him like that. They would have let him die, they should have let him die, but it was too late to think about __that now- far too late. The Naraku they used to know had disappeared- he was gone forever._

_Ever since that day, both parties knew what had to be done. Naraku wanted world domination and ultimate power and he would do whatever it took to get there. __He knew that his former friends would get in his way but he didn't care- he was fully prepared to do everything necessary to prevent them from stopping him. He_  
><em>was fully prepared to kill them. This passed through his mind without a second thought, without emotion. He was truly beyond anyone's reach now. As for the <em>_other three, they realized that Naraku would do anything to achieve his goal of ultimate control and they knew that they couldn't let him. No matter how much it __hurt them, they had no choice but to fight him and they all knew that they would most likely end up having to kill him._

_For about half of a century, they fought one another. Countless lives were taken, villages were destroyed, and spirits were crushed. Nevertheless, neither party __wanted to give in._

_Finally, the last battle was upon them. Naraku, Ketsueki, Suppai, and Gogyou were trapped in a burning forest, the very same forest where Naraku had first __betrayed them all those centuries ago. This was literally a moment where the past had come back to haunt them. Naraku and Ketsueki had created the fire when_  
><em>their attacks had collided in a wall of sparks that lit up the dry trees. Naraku's poison and demonic energy seemed to have given the fire life and water would not <em>_put it out. The bright orange and yellow flames ate their way through the forest and encircled around the four demons and were gradually closing in on them. __However, no one seemed to take any notice of it or if they had, they no longer cared._

_The three demons wanted to put an end to all this fighting so they combined their demonic energy to create one large "super" attack- the Bloody Acid River. It __was a combination of Ketsueki's blood, Suppai's poison, and Gogyou's water all swirled together as one to create an even greater power. It sucked all life from __everything it passed and seemed to grow bigger and stronger as it neared its target. It had finally grown so large, Naraku had no available method of escape and __was thus, promptly swallowed by the great orb._

_The attack had left Naraku immobile and rendered him powerless, however the other three did not fare much better. It took almost all of their strength in order __to release a move of that grandeur. They used the last of it crawling towards Naraku. The three demons managed to look down upon Naraku- they had him right __where they wanted him. All they had to do was raise their claws and put an end to the very thing that caused them grief and despair over the many centuries __they had been battling. And yet they could not bring themselves to do it, after all, it was __their fault that Naraku had ended up this way. If they hadn't been so __selfish and ignorant, none of this would have happened and Naraku never would have gotten corrupted. __Instead, the three boys sat themselves around Naraku and stared at him with forgiveness in their eyes and they simply waited for the fire to consume them all. __Naraku stared up at them with a wild look of confusion and fear in his eyes, but then something in them changed. His eyes seemed to have grown softer all of __sudden and lost most of their metallic luster. They dulled to a dark burgundy and then something of a smile seemed to inch its way across his face._

_He had returned. _

_He had returned to them. Naraku, the Naraku they knew, their greatest friend had come back to them- and he forgave them. He forgave them for their __foolishness, their selfishness, because he understood why they had done what they did- they did not want to lose him. He knew all too well how that feels and __he was beyond grateful. His eyes reflected all of that and something else- apology. He was sorry for what he had done to them and could only hope that they __could forgive him as well._

_They did. _

_No words were expressed. There was no need for any- for their eyes told each other all that they needed to know. They had been friends long enough to know __what the other was saying just by staring into their eyes and reading their emotions. That was the special bond they shared- a supposedly unbreakable one. __However now, as the fire began to engulf them, they realized that their bond was never broken in the first place- just misplaced. Now that it had been found once_  
><em>again, they were determined to never let it go again, to never lose it again, and the only way that this can be achieved is if they took it, their friendship, to the <em>_grave. There was no point in a last minute escape or to grasp at life because if they lived, there would always be a smidgen of doubt between them. There was no_  
><em>guarantee that things would stay the same, they way it had always been before. The only way that they could ensure an eternity of pure happiness, was to die- <em>_to pass on together._

_As the sun set, it lit the sky the same color as the fire- a beautiful hue of orange and yellow, with just a hint of blood red. The flames were casting a heavenly __glow upon the four demons. Just before the fire had completely consumed their bodies, you could just faintly see the four of them lying together in a circle __holding hands, with ghosts of smiles upon their pale, delicate faces._

_The next morning, when the fire had finally dissipated, all that was left of them were four piles of ashes that rode away on the next gust of gentle wind, __scattering their memories over the land. This was their way of reminding the world to never fall into the same stupid mistake they fell into. __Their ashes slowly faded away but their memories never did. Naraku, Ketsueki, Suppai, and Gogyou had died the way they had always wanted to- together, __happy, and as friends. That's what they were- eternal friends._

_This is very much a "happily ever after story," but only if it had stopped there. This tale is far from over and it is very far from "happily ever after." This was __just the beginning- the starting point of a long, vicious cycle that would continue to plague them and everyone else for eons to come and likely would until the end_ _of time. Although the demons had been quick to forgive each other, the gods were not so merciful._

_The gods placed a curse upon those four demons- a curse that causes Naraku and his friends to continuously reincarnate after their previous deaths. The gods __punished them for their wrong doings by making them relive their mistakes again and again and again. Every time Naraku would get reincarnated, he would have_  
><em>no recollection of what happened that caused the demise of his very first life which would in turn, keep him from turning his back on the path of darkness and <em>_conquer. To put it simply, every time Naraku is reincarnated, he is reincarnated as an emotionless villain who knows nothing but how to physically and __emotionally cause pain. He will not hesitate to destroy and will stoop as low as he can in order to get what he wants, thus he has been dubbed: the DemonKiller._

_Once he reaches near-peak of his strength, his "friends" are reincarnated as well. However, once they are reborn into the world, they know only one thing: to kill __the DemonKiller. They are reborn with no memories of their first lives' ends either and their only instinct when they are reborn, the first thing that comes to __mind, is the order of eliminating the DemonKiller. This is in done in order to prevent the DemonKiller from completely destroying their world, so in a way, they are_  
><em>like saviors. They have been dubbed: God's Demons, for this reason.<em>

_This is a never ending cycle because it continues to circle around once the legend for that particular time has been fulfilled, or that is to say, when God's Demons __destroy the DemonKiller, the cycle starts over again. Every 100 years after the death of the DemonKiller, another one is reborn to take his/her place and wreak __more havoc. The catch to this, is that every DemonKiller is supposed to be more evil, insane, and stronger than the last, but every new generation of God's __Demons are also supposed to be more powerful than the last generation as well- this would prevent the DemonKiller from killing them. If that were to happen, __the cycle of God's Demons would cease and there will be no one powerful enough to stop the DemonKiller- he will most likely never die and destroy the world. On __the other hand, if the DemonKiller somehow died at the hands of someone or something else instead of God's Demons, the DemonKiller's cycle would end._

_Although this whole legend is presumably unending, there is a way the cycle can finally be broken forever. If the true reincarnation of Naraku is reborn and he __chooses the destiny not of the DemonKiller, but of true happiness, only then will the cycle end. Of course, this is why nobody believes that this cycle will cease __anytime soon because this is not very likely to happen._

_For now, all we can do is sit back and watch the course of events take place. All we can do is hide and protect each other and try to survive each DemonKiller era. __Since demons tend to live quite a long time, they will most likely live through many generations of DemonKillers. However, there are few demons that have lived __through more than three DemonKillers because as they get reborn, they grow even stronger and the older demons are more susceptible to getting killed at the __claws of their current DemonKiller._

_The gods are not likely to pull the plug on this curse so for now, it is all up to each new DemonKiller to decide whether or not they want to pursue the path of __absolute power or the path of true happiness. Only when the DemonKiller and God's Demons can cooperate with each other and forgive one another again, will __this circle finally come to its true end. Only then can Naraku, Ketsueki, Suppai, and Gogyou finally rest in peace together, as eternal friends, and then the world __can finally live in peace again."_

Just as Ijuuin Sensei concluded his reading, the hawk's cry was sounded through the school, signaling the end of class.

Sesshomaru and his friends got up from their seats, grabbed their books, and headed out the door to their next class. All the while, they were thinking about what a horrible, awful tragedy that the DemonKiller and his friends had gone through, but they were also thinking about how they were going to survive _this_ era's DemonKiller, especially since the last DemonKiller, Shuurajou, actually managed to _kill _his God's Demons. What can they do now, since there will be no one with the power to stop the DemonKiller this time? It was a haunting question that kept nagging them at the back of their minds and everyone, even Sesshomaru, could not deny that slight tug of fear on their hearts.

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><p><strong>AN****: WHEW! DONE! Wow that was a long one. That was the basic summary of the whole legend behind the D****emonKiller and some more specific ****legends and details concerning each individual one will be written in the chapters to come but I think that's enough for now :)**

**BY THE WAY, the Naraku in the legend, IS NOT the same Naraku we know in InuYasha- it is another half spider with the same name. This is ****actually where Naraku gets his name from- his past life. Hmmm…**

**Reviews please! :D**


	5. Chapter 4: The Blue Skinned Demon

**A/N: Hi guys. Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've been busy :/ Anyway, here's chapter 4, enjoy!**

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><p><span>Chapter 4: The Blue Skinned Demon <span>

_1 year later…_

Sesshomaru and his friends, now 13 years old, were walking into the yard of their school. They had a new member in their group- a white wolf demon girl named Ayame. She and Koga were already engaged to be married when they came of age in order to form peace between the two territories. Neither of them were quite sure how to feel about this but they went along with it anyway. Ayame was pretty after all, back length red hair pulled into two ponytails, she had a pink, white, and purple colored flower in her hair that Koga had given her when they first met, she wore a white and lavender kimono, and has deep, emerald green eyes.

They had heard about a new student that transferred into their school and we just a little bit curious as to whom he was exactly. After all, stature is everything in that school- if you were a noble, you were worshipped, if you were a regular Youkai, no one cared unless you were strong, and if you were a half demon, depending on the demon, you were either ignored or looked down upon. In some cases though, some Youkai bailed out the hanyous. In InuYasha and Hirota's case, they were left alone for fear that Sesshomaru or Moku or both would defend their little brothers and beat up the offenders, which of course, nobody in their right mind would want.

_Hmph. Yeah, right. Like we would give the time of day to help those useless half breeds,_ Sesshomaru thought venomously. Frankly, Moku felt the exact same way about Hirota, which is why Sesshomaru and Moku get along so well.

"HI GUYYYS!" Ayame greeted her friends at the top of her lungs. She and Koga were making their way up the ramp to them. Ayame was, as usual, bubbling with happiness and excitement.

"Hey, Ayame," Sumurai greeted and everyone else nodded in acknowledgement.

"What's with the huge group of people over there?" Ayame asked.

"I don't know," Shakudo replied, staring at the growing crowd.

They all moved closer to the crowd, wanting to take a look at what in the world could be causing such a fuss. Koga then took a hold of Sesshomaru's arm and started leading him through the crowd, pushing people out the way, and yelling at the top of his lungs: "Make way people! Son of InuTaisho coming through! If you don't let him pass he will have a few choice words to say to you- and a sword! Make way people!"

"What are you, my manager?" Sesshomaru asked Koga, his voice laced with sarcasm.

The group finally made their way to the front of crowd and saw the new transfer student. He was sitting, leaning against a tree. He had bright blue eyes and black hair that cascaded down his back in a thick ponytail; he was wearing a dark purple kimono with black patches, black boots, and he had a long, red scar that ran down the left side of his face and over his eyebrow and eye. The strangest thing about this demon was that his skin was a dark blue color and was riddled with patches of scales. If it weren't for the skin tone and scales he would be a very handsome demon, but unfortunately he looked like a science experiment gone wrong. Also,

_He's a half demon,_ Sesshomaru concluded when he observed the demon's human-like ears on both sides of his head. He immediately lost interest, if he ever really had any in the first place, turned, and walked away. Koga and his friends followed him close on his heels.

In class, they had history first period this year. They started to learn about old-day customs, traditions, and other things they could care less to know. So we can just skip ahead to third period, defense.

During Katatsumuri Sensei's class, she was having a demonstration of defense against brute strength. They were doing simple defense blocks against fists and feet. After the pairs of Koga and Shakudo, Moku and Ayame, and Sumurai and a tiger demon, Sesshomaru and Lian were paired up. Sesshomaru was the attacker and Lian was the blocker. Basically, Sesshomaru was supposed to hit and kick at Lian while Lian was supposed to block such attacks. It almost seemed cruel, the students believed, to have Sesshomaru attack a half demon because Sesshomaru was very powerful and he often hurt students in demonstrations pretty badly. When the demonstration began, many of the demons looked away but when they did not hear any cries or whimpers of pain, or the sound of fist hitting skull then skull hitting wall and/or floor, they refocused their attention to the two. Every student gaped in open mouthed surprise as they watched Lian block Sesshomaru's advances with ease. Sesshomaru showed no surprise, rather annoyance. When Katatsumuri called it off, she praised Lian and his successful attempts to block his partner's moves.

At lunch, Koga and the others tried to figure out why Sesshomaru's attacks were so easily deterred by Lian. He was only a half demon for Kami's sake!

"HE BLOCKED YOU!" Koga exclaimed.

"Yes, Koga, I know," Sesshomaru explained.

"But how?" Shakudo inquired.

"I don't know," Sesshomaru answered.

They kept pestering Sesshomaru for an explanation but were not provided with one. So after lunch, they went off to offense. Once there, they regrouped with the same partners and began doing strict attack demonstrations and tactics instead of defense ones. When it was Lian and Sesshomaru's turn, Sesshomaru was the defender and Lian was the attacker this time. The class watched in jaw dropping awe as Lian had Sesshomaru pinned to the floor in less than two minutes.

"...WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED?" Koga yelled.

_After school _

"I don't understand how you're being so calm about all this," Shakudo questioned Sesshomaru. "You have never lost to ANYONE your own age Sesshomaru. You've even kicked the shit out of the older students at school. And Lian is a half demon, why aren't you at least annoyed?"

"I never said I wasn't annoyed Shakudo, on the contrary. But is there really any point in getting worked up over it? So the guy is stronger than me and he just so happens to be a half demon, big deal."

"But he's a HALF DEMON!" Moku clarified rather loudly to Sesshomaru. "You hate half demons! You would never allow one to upstage you like that!"

"I GET IT. Just let it go, alright? Your constant shouting is giving me a headache," Sesshomaru wasn't exactly thrilled that a half demon got the better of him in both defense and offense but he was even more unhappy that his friends wouldn't leave him alone about it. To be honest, he didn't care about the outcome of both demonstrations, as long as he would resolve to further strengthen himself for the future so he could beat him then.

Sumurai stared at Sesshomaru. "So if you really don't care, why don't we talk to him? Maybe he can explain to us how he got to be so strong at such an early age despite the fact he's a hanyou."

"Hn," was Sesshomaru's only reply.

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><p><strong><span>AN: A bit shorter than usual but gets the main point across :P Lian is stronger than Sesshomaru even though he's a half demon :O They are all so young how did this happen? The answer will come in time and Lian does provide them with an explanation, but let's just say you shouldn't always believe everything people say. Things aren't always what they seem and Lian is certainly anything BUT what he seems. Or is he? **

**Reviews please! **


	6. Chapter 5: The H with the Power of a DY

**A/N: Whoot two times in one day! :D This is another short chapter where Sesshomaru and his friends try to find out how Lian got to be so powerful. Will they succeed? Read to find out! :) **

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><p><span>Chapter 5: A Hanyou with the Power of a Daiyoukai <span>

Sesshomaru and his gang were headed to school with the decision that they were going to befriend this unbelievably powerful hanyou and figure out his methods of success because after all, if a 13 year old hanyou got powerful enough to beat Sesshomaru, a full blooded daiyoukai, (well soon to be, once his father passes on) in such a short amount of time, then clearly they could learn a thing or two.

Once they reached the school grounds, they searched the entire yard for Lian. Their search proved to be in vain as he was not anywhere outside the school.

Ten minutes later the hawk cry signaled the beginning of school and the entire student population entered the building to attend their classes.

As it turns out, Lian was already inside their first period class. He was sitting at his desk in the far right corner of the room in the front, reading his textbook. Sesshomaru sat next to him, Sumurai next to Sesshomaru, and the rest of the group filled in the seats surrounding them. Lian did not acknowledge their presence but Koga soon got his attention.

"Hey, Lian, what's up?" He cheerfully asked the hanyou.

"Nothing much," Lian replied dully without looking up from his book.

"So Lian," Sumurai started. "We were wondering, how were you able to block and attack Sesshomaru so easily?"

Lian did not reply.

"Hello? Anyone home?" Moku teased.

"We're just wondering, if you don't want to tell us you don't have to," Shakudo assured Lian as he casted a side-stare at Moku and Sumurai. "But we were also wondering, if you want to hang out with us sometime."

Lian looked up this time and stared right into Shakudo's eyes. _Something's not right here,_ he thought. _There's something strange in his eyes… almost as if… they have seen horrors that we have cannot even imagine- I can see the pain reflected in them. _Shakudo broke eye contact and shifted his gaze downward to Lian's book.

"I assume you only wish to be acquaintances because of my supposed strength, strength that I should seemingly not be able to possess simply because I am a half breed?" Lian's words were coated with malice and laced with poison as he shifted his gaze from Shakudo to everyone else sitting around him. His words were shot at their ears like icy arrows but his eyes showed no emotion as he continued his strong, yet very correct, accusations. "I can compare to, stand up to, and take down your daiyoukai friend but because I'm a half demon, it suddenly makes me so interesting. If I was just some ordinary, weak half breed, I would have lost to him and that would be that- another useless, weak, pathetic half demon. But since I actually have the power to dominate, unlike so many other half demons, it all of sudden makes me fascinating. I am now a secret that you all feel you must unlock. All because I am a half demon and the power I possess is just not right. So tell me, you want to uncover my secret to power to obviously make yourselves stronger but why? Do I frighten you? Does it worry you that I, a mere half breed, contain the power to take down a daiyoukai? Or do you simply believe that because I am a half demon, the power that I possess will make yourselves so much more powerful? After all, it's just wrong that a mere half breed has this kind of power, I mean think about it- a hanyou with the power of a daiyoukai. It isn't something you expect and when it's in front of your face, you either deny it or find a way to exploit it. Kami forbid that a half breed should overpower a daiyoukai. This was not what you were taught, it can't be real. Well, maybe where I come from, it _is_ real. Maybe where I come from, there are plenty of hanyous like me, and maybe _we_ were taught that we can easily surpass even full blooded daiyoukais, and maybe, just maybe, we can prove it too.

"I think you should stop letting the stubborn, self confident ones teach you such one sided concepts about power, because you see, things aren't always what they seem to be. Quite the contrary, and if you youkais don't get that through your thick skulls, you'll find that you will soon be digging yourselves some early graves."

Lian stared at them as he gave them his speech, his words were like daggers but his eyes betrayed nothing. He meant the things he said and they knew it. When he finished, he stared icily at them for a couple more seconds, letting the meanings of his words sink in. He then turned back to his book and continued reading where he left off when he was so rudely interrupted.

Sesshomaru and his friends were dumbfounded and shocked into absolute silence.

The hawk cry sounded and their history teacher graced the room with his presence. Sesshomaru and his friends eventually turned their burning ears and shocked eyes away from Lian and towards the front of the room. Koga and Shakudo were shivering at his words, while the rest were just stunned. Clearly, they had angered him and they had probably made his death list- they must be extremely careful around him from now on. He had the strength to take on and even beat Sesshomaru- he had power, he could prove it, and he was not afraid to use it.

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><p><strong><span>AN: Wow, that was dark was it not? :O Only now I'm kind of kicking myself- how the hell am I going to make them friends now? Originally, Lian was not supposed to get this pissed but I kinda went road with it :l Don't worry I'll figure something out, in the meantime, reviews please! :D**


	7. Chapter 6: What Makes aHB a HB is His HH

**A/N**: Hello everyone! I have modified the ending to this chapter a bit. I basically added a few more paragraphs. I wasn't satisfied with how I ended it the last time so I added a more fitting ending :P Hope you like it! I think you will . Anyway here you go! ****

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><p><span>Chapter 6: What Makes a Half Breed a Half Breed is Their Human Heart <span>

They realized their mistake. They had been too forward, came on a bit too strong and he picked up on it. Lian wasn't a fool and he proved he was more than capable of beating them. Killing them? Who knows? Hopefully, no one will have to find this out.

Lian's demeanor had frightened everyone that day. They each pondered for hours, day dreaming during class about Lian's words. Were they true? Did they really have that much of a sheltered life? But it just did not make sense that someone who was half human and half demon would have more power than a full blooded daiyoukai. Half the demon, half the power, and anything else otherwise literally just did not make any kind of sense at all. Yet the proof was right in front of them when Lian had pinned Sesshomaru to the floor during that demonstration two days ago.

Sesshomaru sat thinking in his room when InuYasha burst in complaining rather loudly that Sesshomaru had placed a bucket on top of the door frame of InuYasha's bedroom so that when he opened it, it would fall off onto his head. Sesshomaru had actually set that trap up two days ago but InuYasha had had a sleepover with Hirota so he did not have the chance to get pranked until that day. However, Sesshomaru had been so preoccupied with Lian and his words that he forgot he even set the thing up and did not appear to notice that InuYasha had even come in at all. He was just lying in his bed staring up at the ceiling.

"Sesshomaru, you son of a bitch!" InuYasha swore. "Look what you've done to me, you bastard! I'm gonna totally get you for this!"

Sesshomaru finally looked at InuYasha but he simply asked: "Huh?"

"UUUUGH! You're so infuriating!" InuYasha stormed out of Sesshomaru's bedroom.

Sesshomaru laid his head back on his pillow. He mulled over Lian's speech again and again but every time he did, it just brought more feelings of guilt and confusion. It was true that he had been taught that half breeds were inferior, thus he had believed it himself. But now… he didn't know what to think.

Eventually, when he was called down to dinner, his mind was made up- he would apologize to Lian for him and his friends' behaviors that day. He would swallow his pride and just do it- it would build his character.

"Hurry up, Sesshomaru! Or all of the food will be gone!" Izayoi yelled upstairs to her step-son.

_Yeah, yeah,_ Sesshomaru taunted.

_The next day_

"Yeah, you're right," Sumurai said to Sesshomaru after he explained to her that they should apologize to Lian. "It was wrong of us to do that to him but he should have expected us to think that way."

"He probably did but be that as it may, it was still wrong." Sesshomaru explained.

Sesshomaru waited until all his friends had gathered in order to tell the rest of them his plan. They walked to the school, fully intent on apologizing to him although they knew it would be difficult. Lian probably hates them for what they did and might not let them have a word in. They were a bit worried that if he didn't and if they took it too far, Lian would lash out and injure them. The last thing they wanted was to explain to their parents why their heads were partially severed from their necks.

They were about a quarter of a mile from school when they heard a voice- Lian's. The group veered off track and headed into the brush. When they found Lian, they saw that he was with a couple of human children who seemed to have gotten lost.

It was unbelievable. Lian was as cold as Sesshomaru and definitely had issues that needed to be sorted out, but here he was, smiling warmly and gently taking the hands of the two little human girls and leading them to a human village that wasn't too far from where they were currently standing.

_I suppose it shouldn't be so surprising. After all, what makes a half breed a half breed is his human heart,_ Sesshomaru thought, and he couldn't help but think of InuYasha when he did so. However, it was because Lian seemed to hold the same attitude that he himself did but then again, he never voiced anything about hating humans.

They watched Lian happily show the human girls the way to their home. When they had arrived at the village, the girls let go of his hands, smiled warmly at him, waved goodbye, and ran off to find their parents. Lian watched them go with a relieved look on his face. _If I hadn't been there, _he thought to himself,_ that demon would have killed them. _When Lian had found the children, a demon was attempting to devour them. Lian sure made quick work of _him_.

Sesshomaru and his gang saw the dead demon when they had approached and figured out what happened. So it turns out, Lian was never the bad guy- just misunderstood.

They followed Lian to school, and just before he entered through the gates, Sumurai made an attempt to get his attention by shouting his name. Lian decided to grace them with the opportunity of his attention for a second.

"Lian, we just wanted to apologize for our behavior the other day. It was wrong of us to do that and we hope that you can forgive us," Sumurai stated rather sadly. Moku quickly picked it up from there when it seemed that Lian was not buying it. "Look, we were selfish because we wanted the power you possessed. After all, you were right. We were taught that half breeds were inferior because of what they were. We believed that all half demons were weak and we never expected that you would be able to defeat Sesshomaru."

"Yeah, but really thought about what you said, and just like what Moku explained, you were right. Just because you are a half demon, doesn't mean that you can't ever amount to anything. It was just something we all lived with so it was always something we expected from hanyous." Koga added.

"We also saw what you did back there," Sesshomaru revealed.

"Yeah," Shakudo agreed. "It was really nice of you to show those human children the way home and it was really sweet. Well, what we mean to say is, for a half demon, you're pretty cool."

"You can take on Sesshomaru and you don't brag about it. You still lend a helping hand when it's needed. Frankly, if there's ever a perfect demon out there, it's you," Koga complimented Lian. "Despite the fact that you're a half demon, but that doesn't really matter."

"Yes, and you're still part demon, you should always be proud of that. Not many demons are as kind hearted as you." Sesshomaru added.

"And we are hoping that we can be friends. Really, we do. You're a really cool guy, Lian. We're sorry." Sumurai apologized once more to Lian.

Lian just stared at the group and somehow he knew, they meant what they said, and he accepted their apology. "Ok, I forgive you."

The group smiled at him. Then Koga and Moku went up to Lian, draped one of their arms over his shoulders and they walked into the building. Sesshomaru and the rest of his group followed suit.

_Meanwhile… _

Deep inside a dark cave, two female demons stood over watch of another, a male. The male had a thick mane of very dark, very sexy, curly black hair. He was wearing a dark purple kimono and black boots. His eyes were currently closed in silent slumber, peaceful. That was how he had been for the past eight years- sleeping.

The two females watched him quietly. They had no idea how much longer this slumber of his was going to last. The last time he had been awake was almost a decade ago. It was out of the blue that he suddenly ended up in this very subdued state. One moonless night long ago, he returned to the cave that he called home, fell asleep, and never awoke. They watched him curl up into the arms of this blissful darkness that so many people call sleep and just never came out of it.

"How much longer are we supposed to suffer through this?" The female on the left whispered to her friend.

"I don't know," replied the female on the right.

The woman on the left was a blonde haired lion demon with sapphire eyes and the woman on her right was a black curly haired spider demon with brilliant scarlet eyes. They were Sumurai's sister, Kihan, and her friend Niomi.

Niomi and Kihan sat crouched next to the male's seemingly frozen body. They would have thought him dead were it not for the steady rising and falling of his broad chest.

_He looks just like him_, Niomi thought. _He's the splitting image of Shuurajou._ And indeed he was. This man the reincarnation Shuurajou, the world's last DemonKiller… at least until now. Shuurajou's reincarnation looked just like him- long, tall, broad, strong, exceedingly beautiful, and he was a half demon. His name was Naraku.

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><p><strong><span>AN: Ta da! Naraku has finally come to join us! Anyway, my thoughts about carrying out the rest of the story are pretty scattered right now so we will have to see where I take us, that and I currently have homework that I'm putting off :/ Haha, anyway, the next chapter should be up pretty soon- tonight at the earliest, tomorrow night at the latest. In the meantime...**

**Reviews please! Remember, constructive critism is one of my best friends but flames are not welcome here .**


	8. Chapter 7: A Memory Shrouded in Mystery

**A/N: Hello again! Okay, so I'm a little bit late on updating but I had much homework to do :/ Anyway, I realized that I made the awful mistake of not warning you guys about OC pairings. Please don't let this discourage you from reading D: While there is a little bit of romance in this, it really doesn't play a huge role in this story. This is much more about friendship than romance, so for those of you who don't actually mind, or maybe might have been hoping for that, I sincerely apologize. :( I am not a big romance fan nor a big romance writer so I don't tend to write under such genres. Anyway, I also apologize for the probable crappiness of this chapter (wow I'm doin a lot of that huh? O.o) but this is more like an introductory chapter and I promise you that the upcoming chapters will be much more interesting, so please stick with it ;D **

**So without further ado, chapter 7, everyone! **

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><p><span>Chapter 7: A Memory Shrouded in Mystery <span>

_1 year later… _

"Sumurai! Hurry up, we'll be late for school!" Kihan called for her younger sister.

"Coming, anue!" Sumurai rushed off with Kihan to school. They both caught up with Sesshomaru's group about a half hour later.

"Hey, girlfriend!" Ayame shouted playfully, grasping a hold of Sumurai in a giant crushing bear hug.

"-Cough- Hey, girl! -Cough!-" Sumurai managed a throaty reply.

Once she was released, Sumurai made her way to Sesshomaru and captured his lips a warm kiss, a kiss which Sesshomaru gladly returned. Lian and Koga snickered to themselves which Sesshomaru responded to by sending them a piercing glare. Sesshomaru and Sumurai had been going out ever since summer had started at the end of their 8th year of demon school. Now everyone in Sesshomaru's group was 14 years of age, while Kihan and Niomi were 16, and InuYasha and Hirota were 12.

Nearly everybody in school was devastated when they found out Sumurai and Sesshomaru were an item. Almost all of the females in school were trying to get in with Sesshomaru and almost all of the males in the school were trying to get in with Sumurai. They were all very much unwanted gestures for the both of them, as romance was the last thing on either of the two's minds. However, they found themselves growing closer and decided to make their friendship into something more.

_5__th__ period, math…_

Sumurai was daydreaming again. She sat through class without muttering a word or even listening to the teacher. Math was easy enough for her to understand, so she didn't necessarily have to pay attention. Instead, she decided that the view outside was more worthy of her eyes and paid attention to the singing birds and lazily drifting clouds. However, Sumurai doesn't usually just drift off in class, but today she was feeling very strange.

Sumurai felt something tugging at the back of her mind… something very important. In fact, she had been feeling this way all week but had no idea why. She would zone out in order to attempt to figure out what has her mind so troubled. For some reason, every time she tried, she found herself wandering back to _that_ memory.

Her mind would begin to remind of her of that memory so long ago- a memory of a beautiful man who saved her young life from a demon. Every now and then she would remember him but never really delved too deep into it. It was a long time ago.

"HEY, SUMURAI!" Koga yelled in her ear, startling her from her daydreaming. "Class is over," he explained.

"Oh," she replied. She grabbed her stuff and headed out with Sesshomaru and the rest of them, moving on to their 6th period fencing class. On the way there, Koga told an extremely hilarious joke about half demons, earning him ear splitting fits of laughter from everyone except Lian, who instead opted to punch his lights out.

"Dohh!" Koga drawled as he fell heavily to the floor with swirls in his eyes. Lian stood next to him cracking his knuckles while Sesshomaru and the others bawled even harder in laughter. Sesshomaru placed a clawed hand on Lian's shoulder and said something along the lines of this: "Lian, get a sense of humor would you? Koga's just playin," But his speech was heavily slurred with laughter, making it almost impossible to comprehend anything he said. So Lian just rolled his eyes, but he smiled playfully.

Sumurai laughed so hard she accidently knocked into Moku and dropped her books.

"Oh! Sorry, Moku," she apologized.

"Don't worry about it, I wasn't paying attention," Moku smiled and helped her pick up her two very heavy textbooks, one about demon history, the other about biology. Sesshomaru was going to ask if she was alright, but stopped short when Sumurai held out her hand to take her books. As she reached out to get them from Moku, the sleeve of her kimono was pulled down slightly, but it was enough for Sesshomaru to see the large, blue and black bruise that blemished her perfect skin.

… _Oh man…_ he thought sadly to himself. He looked at Koga, who had suddenly appeared out of his daze and off the floor, and was standing next to him. From the pained look on Koga's face, he saw it too. "Why?" He whispered softly.

"…"

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><p><strong><span>AN: Sorry about how short that one was, I'm feeling quite tired atm... X_X I will try to update one more time tonight but I wouldn't count on it :/ In case I confused you guys, the memory and Sumurai's injury are sorta connected. (... Okay maybe I just confused you some more XO) Well, it will be explained in the next couple chapters to come :) **

**Anyway, reviews please! :D **


	9. Chapter 8: So Wakes the Devil

**A/N****: Yay twice in one night! Well almost- this is gonna get updated after midnight when I finish my edits but it was all in one sitting nonetheless! X) So, I'm even more tired than before but I think this one turned out a little bit better than the last one did, however unfortunately, if you guys had any questions concerning the last one, I'm afraid that this chapter will probably _not_ answer them. Sorry! But I promise, I swear on my death bed, that the next chapter will definitely shed some light on all this. For now, just read and enjoy! Here's chapter 8! :D **

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><p><span>Chapter 8: So Wakes the Devil<span>

_1 week later… _

She still couldn't quell this suspicious feeling inside of her, the strange feeling that something was going to happen.

Sumurai was walking with her pals, holding hands with Sesshomaru. Her friends and Sesshomaru happily chatted away, but she was a bit preoccupied with something else at the moment. However this time, it was not about the strange feeling she had a while ago. It was replaced with another feeling- a feeling of unease. Her shiny blue eyes kept darting back and forth behind her, beside her, and everywhere else in between. She felt like she was being watched.

Among the trees behind her, a large shadow figure was crouching within the dark green leaves and dark brown bark. He watched her, his crimson eyes never leaving her, and he observed her with great intensity.

When the wind picked up, the branches that were his cover were blown out and for a split second, you could catch a quick glance of him before he disappeared into another tree. He was a half demon with long curly black hair, glowering crimson eyes, and pale skin. He was wearing a dark purple kimono and black boots. He was Naraku.

_2 weeks earlier…_

A pair of subdued crimson eyes greeted the light for the second time since his birth, or rather since his _re_birth.

Naraku sat up and found himself in the darkness of the same cave in which he had fallen into a restless slumber for all those years. He cautiously looked around and when he was satisfied that he was alone, he stood up and walked toward the entrance. Upon nearing it, he halted. He could hear voices, laughter. He could also smell a group of roving demons.

Naraku backed up deeper into the cave- he was far too weak to be able to defend himself at the moment, for he had just awoken after all.

He could then see clearly, that the demons were actually quite young. A bunch of male demons and one, just one, female demon made up the group. Automatically, he felt worried for the female but he quickly registered that no harm would come to her, as it seemed they all knew and trusted one another.

_Worried? I felt… worried? _Naraku thought to himself. There was never a DemonKiller who felt worry for anybody but themselves, and usually not even themselves- they were always very self confident and stubborn.

Before he was aware of it, the group disappeared behind the trees. He was about to follow them because when he had laid his eyes upon the extravagantly beautiful female, he felt as though he had met her before. But before he could pursue them, he heard a voice call out his name rather questionably and shock was evident judging by the shrill in the tone of voice.

"Naraku?" He turned around and came face to face with his cousin, Niomi, and her friend, Kihan.

"… Hello… Niomi," he responded slowly. He was eyeing her peculiarly. _Why does she look so shocked to see me?_ He then voiced that question aloud to her. His voice was deep, but velvety smooth.

"Wha… what are you talking about? Naraku, you've been asleep for over nine years!" She yelled, now in shock that he would ask such a question. This time however, she was not the only one shocked. Naraku looked as though he just witnessed a peace treaty between Sesshomaru and InuYasha.

"… What are _you_ talking about? Nine years? That's preposterous," he argued.

"It's true, Naraku," Kihan stepped up beside her friend. "Ever since that night, that last night you came home and fell asleep. You've been sleeping for almost a decade afterwards."

"I… I have?" He inquired in disbelief.

"You have," Niomi confirmed.

"…"

"Naraku?" Niomi tried to get his attention, since he seemed to have zoned out.

"Then… perhaps… it _was_ her…"

"What? Who are you talking about?"

Naraku turned to look at Kihan, his eyes meeting hers. His gaze was piercing, and an icy chill rode down her spine. "Your sister."

"My… sister…? Sumurai?"

He nodded once, slowly.

Niomi stared hard at Naraku. Though she never said it aloud, she wasn't pleased that Naraku remembered her. Something happened between those two, and something in Naraku had suddenly changed. It was slight, but she felt it as soon as he had returned that night, and then he fell asleep and never awoke until now.

_I knew something was wrong the moment he returned_, she thought. _I can still feel it, although it isn't as apparent as it was that night._

"How old is she then?" Naraku's voiced startled Niomi out of her thoughts.

"14," Kihan answered.

"… I see."

It was quiet for another minute or so before he spoke again.

"She has grown quite beautiful."

"Yes… I suppose she has," Kihan agreed hesitantly.

Another awkward silence filled the air, but it died down when Naraku retreated fully back into the cave. Niomi and Kihan followed him inside, and they filled him in on everything he had missed in the last decade.

_Present day…_

Naraku had not decided to follow her until last week. He was instructed to stay in the cave by Niomi and was not allowed to step even a foot outside it. He complied but did not appreciate the order. In truth, he wanted to see her very badly.

_I missed her, perhaps…?_

Ridiculous. He quickly shoved that thought away. He was a DemonKiller, the reincarnation of Shuurajou. He could not allow himself to get side tracked by worthless emotions- he had his duty. It was his destiny to rise above Shuurajou, and take his place in history as the worst, most cruel DemonKiller in history. World domination, absolute power, and worldwide fear were what he hoped to attain in this life, which would most likely be a long one since there would be none of God's Demons out to destroy him.

He smiled evilly as he stared down at Sumurai. Indeed, she had grown into quite a piece of work. And from what he observed from her this past week, she was intelligent, funny, and caring. However, he could also see that she was involved with that dog…

_Tch_, he was none too pleased, but he didn't know why. He only met her one time, and it was years ago. _She probably doesn't remember me…_ he thought, strangely full of remorse. He did not feel like revealing himself to her, however. He recalled how their first, and last, meeting ended. He had promised that he would see her again, but he never did. Somehow, it didn't seem right to show himself now, at least not in front of everyone else. Especially not in front of the dog- he had done his research. The dog's name was Sesshomaru, and he was the son of InuTaisho. He did not want Sesshomaru to see him and run the risk that he would tell his father.

_No, I cannot afford to have my cover blown so soon. The world cannot know yet that the DemonKiller has returned. I am not nearly strong enough. _

He was already walking on thin ice because although InuTaisho does not know of his existence, _she_ does- Tekkei. Although, it seems that she has kept that little secret to herself, but still… best be careful. It was pointless to take any unnecessary risks right now.

Naraku quickly hid himself deeper into the darkness, letting the curtain of leaves block him from view as Sumurai suddenly turned her gaze in his direction.

"What's wrong, Sumurai?" Sesshomaru asked her.

"I thought I just saw… never mind," she answered, still staring at the spot in the trees in which Naraku was hiding. She then turned back around and rejoined Koga's fascinating rant on why Katatsumuri Sensei had so unjustly thrown him through a red checkered door that afternoon- apparently because he was mocking her style of speech to the entire class, but he claimed that he was just "making the class livelier!" Goodness that did not blow over well with her- she tossed him extra hard that time.

Lian and Sesshomaru shook their heads. "Koga, you know you were asking for it," Lian chuckled.

"Hey, hey, I'm just saying, she _has_ to know that students are going to mock her for that!" Koga countered.

"Oh boy," Sesshomaru sighed.

Meanwhile, back in the safety of the trees, Naraku continued to watch the group with mild interest. His main interest was in Sumurai and how he would be able to speak with her in private. He did so want to talk to her again. By now, he had come to terms with the fact that he had indeed missed her.

He watched her form disappear into the trees ahead of him but he ceased his stalking. There was no point in going after her now. Instead, Naraku went in another direction- the direction to her den. He was bound and determined to be able to speak with her and he knew that she would be headed that way eventually. He would just have to catch her before she actually made it close enough that her fellow pride members would be able to sense his presence if he accidently got too close. This was, obviously, the last thing he wanted to have happen.

_I wonder how much she has changed since that night, _he thought to himself. _I wonder if _they _have ceased their outrageous acts of cruelty._ Naraku leaped away silently, hoping desperately, that his influence from that visit stayed with them, Sumurai's family. _It better have, or they will have to deal with ME. After all, it was something I had promised to her all those years ago. It would be a shame to go back on it- and I am, after all, a demon of my word. _Naraku smiled mischievously as he silently and stealthily, leaped his way across the vast plains of the Western Lands, drawing nearer to Sumurai's den.

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><p><strong><span>AN: Okaaayyy, so I'm pretty sure I just generated a whole lot more questions because of this X_O Don't worry, like I said, the chapter will probably answer most of them. The next couple actually, this part of the story spans a bit wider than some of the previous plots. **

**So guys, I really need your feedback. I feel as though I could be writing a lot better than this O.o If you guys have any comments of constructive critism or compliments, please leave them. Again, no flames please, as they only hurt anybody who has to read them. **

**Everything about Naraku and Sumurai's first and last meeting will pretty much take up the entire next chapter and a little bit more about Naraku will be revealed in upcoming chapters. Just encourage and stay with me, and you will enjoy it- I promise! ;D **

**You all know what I'm going to say now: Reviews please! :DD **


	10. Chapter 9: Their First Encounter

**A/N: Hello all! This is so far my longest chapter ;D It is mostly drabble in the beginning, but it delves into a more serious subject pretty quickly. This chapter is, just like I promised in the last one, mostly about Sumurai and Naraku and I hope that it answers your guys' questions :) **

**So now I present to you: Chapter 9! Enjoy! :D **

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><p><span>Chapter 9: The First Encounter<span>

It was close to midnight when Sumurai returned home. She had stayed over at Sesshomaru's and InuYasha's palace for the day and they had a great time, as usual.

InuYasha and Hirota always went off by themselves to chat or to hang out at their own constructed playground in the heart of the palace grounds. The playground had three metal slides, a pair of swings, a couple of jungle gyms and monkey bars that were different sizes and shapes, and lots of ladders made out of stone, wood, metal, rope, etc. It all connected up into a sort of club house looking structure that was divided into three main areas at the top after you climb about seven feet up. It had a large, triangular roof at the top and a long tunnel that connected the three main parts of the structure.

One part had two wooden ladders and the smallest of the three slides, another part had more ladders and monkey bars attached, and the third part had more ladders and more monkey bars. It also had another set of three ladders made of metal that climbed about another five feet up into another structure that had a rectangular roof. That structure was divided into two more areas that were connected with another, although shorter, tunnel. On both structures, were the other two slides (one slide per structure) and bird's eye views of almost the entire Western Palace.

This playground was a safe haven for the two half demons and Sesshomaru and his friends hardly ever used it. They were usually hanging out at Sesshomaru's flat or walking around the castle grounds. This way, they all stayed out of each other's ways. Sometimes though, if the two groups ever ran into each other, some insulting or fighting would brew, but it was all quickly stopped by Sumurai, who very heavily frowned upon Sesshomaru's treatment of InuYasha, and InuYasha's attitude as far as deliberately goading Sesshomaru into hurting him goes. She could be very persuasive in those kinds of situations… not to mention frightening. Sumurai was incredibly sweet and very kind, but she can hold her own quite well and can be very vicious if she needed to be when someone she cared for was in danger.

Sumurai was gliding through the trees, gracefully weaving her way around each one as she neared her den. Part of her dreaded going home, but it would only get worse if she put it off. She then suddenly felt as though someone was watching her again. However, this time, she felt his presence and smelled him approaching her. She remained stoic as she gracefully turned around, a look of indifference plastered to her pale, beautiful face.

"I am to assume that you are the one who has been following me so often as of late?" She coldly asked the demon.

"…You would be correct," he answered, his voice wrapping itself around her like a snake winding around its prey.

Naraku stepped out of the trees and stared directly into her eyes, and Sumurai stared right back. Her icy blue irises meeting his crimson red ones, as both demons were determined not to show weakness by breaking eye contact. However, Naraku remembered that he resolved to appear friendly to her, so despite his enormous ego, he broke first.

Silence filled the air around them. No one said a thing. Finally, Naraku decided to speak first.

"I trust you have fared well these past few years, Sumurai?" He asked her.

Sumurai raised a brow in confusion. "Do I know you?" She asked him.

"Yes, I am sure you do- you just don't remember."

Sumurai continued to stare at him questioningly.

"Do you not recall a certain incident almost ten years ago when a man saved your life from that demon?" Naraku asked her.

She blinked twice and narrowed her eyes. Yes, she does, but how does _he_ know about it? Unless…

Her eyes widened slightly as she suddenly remembered that man's name. "Are you… Naraku?"

Naraku smiled at her and nodded his head. "I am."

"… Naraku… it is really you?" He nodded. "… Omigod… you've… you've come back?"

"I have, Sumurai. I am so sorry for leaving you alone all those years. Please forgive me. I promised that I would watch over you and be there if you needed me but… I didn't stay true to my word."

Sumurai suddenly whisked her way over to him, all remnants of her stoic composure gone as she embraced the man she thought she would never see again. Shock was evident in Naraku's eyes but he embraced back with just as much enthusiasm, if not more.

"I never thought that I would see you again," Sumurai whispered softly, her voice full of sorrow.

"I'm sorry, my love," Naraku apologized. Sumurai, who had her eyes closed in order to prevent the fall of tears, opened them slightly at those words. There was only one other person who called her "love." She pulled away hesitantly.

"Have I troubled you?" Naraku inquired her, confused.

"Oh no, It's nothing. Don't worry about it," Sumurai looked away from Naraku and then back again. He had a slight smile on his face, but it was full of guilt and sadness. _He truly regrets his disappearance. _She thought. But she held nothing against him for that, as a matter of fact, she didn't think he would hold true to his promise. She had just figured that he had been passing by and acted on instinct when he saw her in danger.

_9 ½ years ago…_

Little five year old Sumurai was wandering away from home, or rather, _running_ away from home. She ran north, as fast as her petite legs would carry her before she collapsed beside a large tree. She sat there for about ten minutes, listening to the songs of the birds, the calls of the animals, and the whistling of the wind through the leaves. Then she heard something else, something very threatening. She heard the snarl of a large cat.

Sumurai looked to her left and spotted it. It was a large, male leopard demon. The black and brown jagged spots were dotted all over his pale yellow fur, his scarlet eyes sparkling and glowing with ravenous hunger, his fangs protruded dangerously from his mouth and claws extended from his slender but powerful paws. He snarled and hissed at the girl, who immediately stood up and ran away from the large cat as fast as she could.

The leopard gave chase. He was closing in on the small child, and it only took twelve seconds before he was right on her tail. He leapt high into the air and threatened to come crashing down on her. He would have too if she hadn't dodged out the way. Sumurai started screaming at the top of her lungs for help.

Somewhere close by, a demon's ears twitched at the shrill noise. His head turned sharply to the right and witnessed a small demon child running from a long, slender leopard. He saw her trip over a tree root and fall down. She was now crouched in a fetal position against a sturdy tree trunk, waiting for the leopard to kill and devour her.

It never did.

Before the leopard even got close, the demon shot out of the trees and pounced on the enormous cat demon. "Useless vermin!" He hissed at it, his eyes pulsating and glowing bright red. He raised his long claws and swiped at the cat, tearing its throat out.

The leopard collapsed in a heap on the forest floor and just to make certain it was dead, the demon slit its stomach open. The little girl watched this with a very sickened expression. Then the demon turned fully around to face her when he deemed the situation taken care of.

He smiled a beautiful, vibrant smile when he looked at her. "Why hello there, my dear child," he cooed at her.

Sumurai backed up even further against the tree, frightened of him. The demon took a slow, cautious step forward and stood in the patch of sun light that had burst its way through a bare spot within the canopy. With the sun shining down on him, Sumurai could see every outstanding feature on his beautiful figure.

He was an extraordinary looking man. His skin was a pale hue, making his crimson eyes stand out perfectly. He had a thick mane of luscious curly black hair tied back into a ponytail that stretched all the way down his slender, muscular back. He was wearing a dark purple kimono and black boots. Sumurai felt as though she were staring at a god. However she thought the whole situation was very strange- one minute, those eyes were burning with an intense rage and a strong desire to kill, then the next, they were warm and full of a certain serenity.

The demon looked at her curiously. "What is your name?" He asked politely. Sumurai just stared at him, still in awe of his seemingly flawless features.

The demon cocked his head a bit to the side. "Is something the matter? Are you mute?"

Sumurai finally registered that he was speaking to her. She looked him in his blood colored eyes and shook her head.

"Then you wouldn't mind telling me your name?" He asked once more, still smiling patiently at her.

"… Sumurai…" She whispered just loud enough for his highly sensitive ears to pick up. He continued to smile at her as he introduced himself.

"Hello, Sumurai. I am Naraku."

"… Hello…" She timidly greeted him.

"Where do you live? Perhaps I can help you get home?" Naraku asked her. "Do not worry, I will not hurt you, I only wish to see that you return safely," he assured her when he saw the distressed look on her face.

Sumurai looked at the torn body of the slain demon then back at Naraku. Could she really trust him? He had saved her although not in the most modest of ways. She finally pointed a small, slender finger to the right- the direction her den was in.

Naraku smiled and strode over to the girl. Sumurai twitched and cowered slightly but was gently picked up and placed on his back. Naraku leapt off the ground and took off at a frighteningly fast pace but Sumurai held a firm grip on him in order to keep herself from tumbling off.

Naraku reached the den in about three minutes and he gently put her down. He smiled once more at her and Sumurai simply stared at him but nodded her head in a gesture of gratitude. She swiftly turned from him and walked off with as much grace as she could muster- she was the princess of her tribe after all, she had to look it in front of everyone.

It was then that Naraku saw it.

The wind blew Sumurai's kimono around and the sleeves of it swiped quickly from side to side, following the path of the wind gusts. Naraku saw that her arms were covered in black bruises, cuts, and scrapes. At first, he had assumed they were gathered while she was running from the leopard, but they didn't look fresh. He discreetly followed her, making absolutely no noise as he attempted to make sure that he must just be thinking things.

He watched Sumurai return to the presence of her family, however, the atmosphere felt far from welcome. Naraku noticed that none of the lions made an attempt to find out if she was alright or where she had even been. It was almost as if they didn't even care.

Then he heard the whispers.

"_Oh look, she's back."_

"_Really? Now I had thought the little brat had finally gone for good."_

**What?**

"_Well she certainly won't be getting any kind of slack for this. She deserved it and her mother would certainly not go back on it."_

"_Such a stubborn child."_

**What the hell?**

"_She smells of leopard."_

"_Such a shame… such a shame it didn't finish her off."_

"_No, it's for the best. After all, there's no need in unjustly poisoning the poor beast. It would most certainly have a difficult time surviving after a chunk of her."_

**Why are they saying these things? She's their family! **

"_Disgusting." _

"_Ungrateful."_

"_She won't live long anyway. Not with the attitude she sports."_

**How dare they…**

"_I know, but it would be the best for all of us if she just kicks it before she even has the chance to ascend to the throne. She will certainly be the death of us if she makes it that far."_

**How DARE they…**

"_Oh, she won't. She's already starting to break. Why, I estimate only another couple decades at most."_

"_And when she finally does, we can tell them, the poor girl has always had problems. Nothing we have been able to do for her has roused her from her grief and hysteria."_

**HOW DARE THEY…**

"_We love her so, but we cannot deal with this any longer. She must be dealt with in a respectable manner."_

"_Yeah, by tossing her lifeless, disease ridden corpse off the body of a cliff!" _

_**HOW DARE THEY! HOW DARE THEY SAY THESE THINGS ABOUT HER? SHE'S ONLY A CHILD!**_

Yet, Sumurai just walked past everybody with dignity. She refused to let their words bother her, actually, it was almost as if she couldn't hear them at all.

"Sumurai." A cold voice broke through all the whispers. Sumurai turned to her left and spotted her mother, Lady Tekkei, staring at her through her ice blue eyes. "Where have you been?" She asked, though she did not seem all that concerned.

Sumurai just stared back at her, refusing to utter a sound. It was then that Lady Tekkei, with her patience running thin, raised a clawed hand and slapped the child.

Naraku flinched. _Her mother too…? WHY? What has she done to deserve this? _His thoughts were full of sadness and confusion but most of all, they were full of absolute rage.

Sumurai just continued to stare at her mother after a couple of quick seconds' recuperation from the slap. An inflamed hand print, however, was still very visible on her left cheek.

Tekkei started to raise her hand again when a younger lioness blocked its travel.

"Mother, please stop! You can't keep doing this to her!" It was Kihan.

"Don't try to argue my methods of parenting, girl," Tekkei Sama retorted.

"_Parenting_? THAT'S a laugh!" Kihan scoffed. "Mother, all you ever do is hit her, beat her; you do nothing to stop the others from treating her like garbage!"

"Kihan," her mother started.

"ALL you ever do is treat her like shit! She doesn't deserve any of this- she's only five, for Kami's sake! For all we know mother, she could already be becoming something that none of us will be proud of because she was never taught otherwise. Children are very easily impressionable, and who knows how much wrong you and everyone else have been unintentionally teaching her all these years. Who knows how much violent behavior she's picked up from you!"

"You keep your mouth shut, child." Tekkei Sama raised her hand once more, but this time she hit Kihan. She slapped her full on the cheek, sending her sprawling away from her and Sumurai. She landed on the ground and stared up at her mother with a mixture of horror and absolute disgust. Then she turned a completely fearful expression towards her younger sister, who in turn stared at her with no expression in her sapphire eyes.

_She already looks like mother with that dreadful look in her eyes…_ Kihan thought to herself, with even more rage building up inside. Had all of this negative treatment messed her up so badly already? So much so that she had already taken to wearing her mother's expressionless face, no matter what was happening around her or to whom?

Lady Tekkei returned her attention back to Sumurai.

"I'll ask you just one more time, child. Where have you been?"

Sumurai still said nothing. The air had grown completely silent. Not a single leaf stirred, nor a single breath taken. She just simply stared back at her mother full in the eyes with no look of fear or hesitation. Yes indeed, she was at that moment, the spitting image of Tekkei- spiteful, stubborn, and devoid of any emotion.

"Child," she started dangerously once more, her voice came out rough; her words as snarls. "Where. Have. You. Been?" She raised another clawed hand as she did so, and began to bring it down toward her spiteful child. Everyone braced themselves for the worst, when a dark voice rang across the den and wormed its way through every lion's ear.

"She was with me." Naraku, who could no longer stand silently by, stepped out to reveal himself to Lady Tekkei and the rest of the pride.

"And just who are you?" Tekkei Sama asked the stranger. Her lionesses began snarling threateningly and surrounding Tekkei Sama to form a barrier between her and the strange man.

"I am Naraku." A wide, devilish grin spread across his face as his eyes lit up like fire, an act that had put off some of the lionesses and plunged the whole pride into a state of uneasiness and caution. They had never been this on guard since Shuurajou's time.

"… Naraku, eh?" Tekkei Sama inquired. Naraku smirked at her.

"Indeed."

A full minute passed as they stared each other down, neither refusing to break by looking away or even blinking. Finally, Naraku decided to break the silence.

"Why are you doing this?" He asked the lioness.

"I do a lot of things, Naraku. Please be specific," she responded, rather rudely.

"You know what I'm talking about. Why are you hurting your own daughter?"

Kihan stared at Naraku, amazed. _He actually cares? He is bothered by the way my little sister gets treated? _

Lady Tekkei on the other hand, simply glowered at him. "Hurting my own daughter? Is that what you cretins call discipline?" She smirked at him.

"Discipline?" Naraku glared at Tekkei Sama. "You call abusing her, DISCIPLINE?" His eyes flashed as the color crimson began seeping itself deeper into Naraku's eyes. Some of the lionesses began to get extremely bad vibes from him. They somehow knew that he was not one to be messed with. Perhaps Tekkei Sama knew this as well, and she was dodging his questions purposely? She did that with many of her fellow daiyoukais including InuTaisho, and she certainly got a kick out of their reactions.

"And who are you to call me out on my parenting?" Tekkei's eyes narrowed and grew serious as creases appeared on her beautifully pale face. "Tell me," she continued. "I can sense that you, demon, or rather, _half _demon, seem to be very close to my daughter. I do not believe that you two have met anytime before now, so why?"

"She is a beautiful child, Lady Tekkei. Truly worthy of being your heir, but she is NOT worthy of this crap that you put her through. Why do you treat her so? She holds so much potential for your tribe. I can tell that she has so much to offer- she can help this pride prosper even more than it already does. Besides that, she's your daughter, your family! She deserves all the love and respect that comes with having a family. So why do you put her down? What kind of sick game are you playing, Lady Tekkei?" Naraku looked truly pissed and his eyes continued to flash and pulsate faster with each passing sentence.

Tekkei's frown grew and she began to stare daggers at Naraku. "I grow tired of your constant questions that you have no business with knowing the answers to. You half breeds need to learn to stay out of others' personal matters. Kami knows that more of you would survive if you did so." Tekkei turned her back to Naraku and began walking deeper into her den.

Tekkei then suddenly stopped and turned her head back towards Naraku, her face suddenly devoid of all emotion once more. "I would advise that you cease your interfering in my affairs and be more concerned with your own well being, should it so happen that you cross the line and then find yourself in a less than desirable situation." Her eyes flashed and burned red as a warning to Naraku for only a second before returning to their normal sky blue.

She turned around once more and walked further in toward her den and her lionesses began following her, all the while keeping a close watch on the half demon. As Tekkei walked, she spoke again.

"It would be wise of you to take your leave, hanyou. But before you go, here's another piece of advice: Stay away from Sumurai. Her well being is of no concern to you and your meddling will only serve to further anger me. However my lions and I treat her is our business alone. If I deem it alright for the pride to exact punishment on her, it shall be carried out however they want it to, although rest assured, I would never let them _kill_ the girl.

"Now be off, half breed. And I don't ever want to catch you around my daughter again. Is that clear?"

Naraku didn't answer. Instead, he leapt right over the lions and landed in front of Tekkei. He had done so too fast for the lions to react, and even still, immediately after he landed, he raised his hand and slapped Lady Tekkei.

The lions snarled and roared and lunged at Naraku, but he easily side stepped the few that made their way into his path before Tekkei Sama held up a hand and uttered a low snarl, signaling for her lions to halt.

As her lions backed off, they and Kihan surprised beyond all hell, Tekkei stared at Naraku as though she were analyzing some exotic creature. She had recovered quickly from the blow but surprisingly, was not furious at him having practically attacked her. Instead, she surveyed him with interest, then simply smiled at him after a minute or so of awkward silence had passed.

"You're pretty gutsy to land a blow like that on me. Do you truly have no fear? Or are you just stupid? Although being a hanyou, probably both," she insulted Naraku, still offering her attempt at a sweet smile.

"Sticks and stones, Lady Tekkei," Naraku retorted. "But remember that you aren't the only one with a vast amount of power. You threaten me that if I ever come near your daughter again, you shall not hesitate to cause me extreme bodily harm or even kill me. However, understand this: if you or any of your lions ever lay another claw on Sumurai again, _I _will kill _you_."

Kihan and just about every lion in the vicinity gasped. No one ever threatened Lady Tekkei like that and got away with it. Their eyes bulged so much that they threatened to pop out of their sockets. Tekkei however, just stared at Naraku, looking indifferent.

After another silent couple of seconds, Tekkei's eyes began to darken and a frown marred her angelic features. She walked the couple of steps that it took to become level with Naraku and whispered into his ear: "You think you have the power to kill me? That's a laugh. However, I have no reason to doubt your strength; after all, I know very well who you are."

Naraku's eyes narrowed slightly.

"You're the spitting image of him, you know. I must say that the only real noticeable difference between the two of you is your height."

Naraku smirked. "I get told that a lot," he joked.

"Ah, interesting how you have a sense of humor. _He_ certainly didn't."

"Oh, he did," Naraku corrected her with a slight mischievous grin playing at his lips. "You just wouldn't understand it."

"Hmm, I might have to agree with you on that. I am afraid I'm not one for an extremely sadistic sense of humor."

"Could've fooled me," Naraku chuckled darkly.

"Hn," she grunted, definitely not pleased with that joke. "Anyway Naraku, you are still a child and I could easily destroy you right now but I won't. I don't see the point in doing so. But understand that if you ever get in my way again, I will not hesitate to end your miserable life. I would still be on your guard anyhow. After all, since _they_ won't be here to kill you, _someone_ has got to."

Naraku smirked again. "I'll keep that in mind. And _you_ should keep in mind that I will be holding true to my promise. I will be watching, Lady Tekkei. If I see you or one your lions, or anyone for that matter, even attempt to lay a hand on Sumurai, I will not hesitate to destroy you."

"… You sure are soft, considering the fact that you're the DemonKiller. Shuurajou was not nearly as kind as you are," was all she had to say to him as she sent him a quick glance before silently gliding away, leaving his side. She walked on and her lionesses slowly started to follow her, cautiously moving around Naraku but keeping their eyes trained on him in case he decided to do something stupid again.

Once all the lions had cleared out, and that they and Tekkei, had become nothing more than tiny specks in the distant trees, he turned to his left and found Kihan still on the ground, staring at him.

Kihan stood up completely, brushed herself off, and then looked at Naraku.

"I cannot even hope to thank you enough for what you did," she said, with great honor and worship. "You stood up to her, not a lot of people have done that and survived without any great deal of harm. I am so sorry for the way she is."

"There is no reason for you to apologize," Naraku smiled calmly at her. "Besides, there was no way I was just going to stand idly by and watch her abuse you and Sumurai." As he said so, he turned to face Sumurai. She stared at him indifferently, showing no sign that she even understood what happened.

Naraku knelt down so he was more level with the beautiful girl's face. "Sumurai, remember that I will always be watching over you. If you ever need my help, if you ever get beaten again, please come find me. I will always be there to aid you, do you understand?"

Sumurai just stared at Naraku, but something that could be described as a very discreet nod was witnessed. Naraku smiled beautifully at her; his red eyes so full of warmth.

Naraku stood up, said good bye to Kihan and Sumurai, and started walking to the path that wound through the forest heading north.

After about only a half minute of walking, he sensed a presence nearby. He turned around and saw Sumurai standing about ten feet behind him, eyes trained on the ground. He stared at her curiously, and then finally, she looked him straight in the eyes and gave him a very warm, very generous smile. Then she said to him: "Thank you, Naraku."

Naraku stood there staring at her, shock evident in his eyes as he watched the beautiful child quickly turn around and run off back through the dark green forest brush.

Naraku suddenly felt a feeling that he had never felt before. Was it happiness? Joy? Or perhaps… love? Whatever it was, it made him feel like the greatest man in the entire universe. He grinned from ear to ear as he leapt up to the top of a tree that had been towering over him, and continued leaping north and out of sight.

_Present day…_

Naraku certainly remembered that day quite well. He had replayed Sumurai's words to him over and over as he made his way back to his cave. It was that very night on which, upon reaching the cave, he settled down to sleep and never awoke until only a couple of weeks ago.

He still didn't know why he had slept for so long, but he was awake now, and Sumurai, now almost a full grown lady, was standing in front of him. Indeed, she had changed quite a bit since their first encounter, and he couldn't be happier. That was strange to him- he was happy because she was happy. It was not something he had ever had the pleasure to feel before, but it made him feel great.

Then he remembered his promise he made to her and he was immediately bombarded with a strong feeling of guilt. He hadn't been there at all for almost a decade. What if she had needed him and he wasn't there to help her? Obviously, if she did, it wasn't something that endangered her too much or someone else ended up helping her. After all, she was still alive and seemed to be in perfect health.

"Sumurai, I just want to apologize again that I broke my promise," Naraku tried to apologize again to Sumurai, but she help up her hand.

"Naraku, please do not trouble yourself," she smiled warmly at him. "Really, I have no reason to blame you, nor do I wish to. All that matters is that you are here now. I hope that perhaps we can become really great friends."

Naraku looked puzzled. _Friends?_

Sumurai stepped closer to him and embraced him once more. "We _are_ friends right?"

Naraku looked into her the beautiful, shining pools of blue that were Sumurai's eyes, and just couldn't say no- not that he had ever planned to in the first place anyway.

He smiled as he happily responded: "Yes, we are." Naraku hugged Sumurai back, and they held each other for a good long minute. They relished the feel of each other in their arms, and were already looking forward to the many years that they would share together.

When Naraku and Sumurai let go of each other, Naraku's arm accidently hit against Sumurai's forearm and she winced in pain. Naraku looked at her, a look of concern seeping its way into his eyes.

"What's wrong?" He asked her. To which she replied: "Nothing."

Sumurai had been rubbing the spot that Naraku's arm had bumped. Naraku looked into her eyes and saw the pain reflected in them. She was just being brave- she didn't have to. He would always be there to protect her, thus there would be no reason for her to be.

Naraku decided to take a look at what was causing her pain. He took a step toward her and began rolling up her left kimono sleeve. Sumurai's eyes widened in panic and pleaded to him: "No, Naraku! It really doesn't hurt all that much. It's just a scrape!" Naraku however, ignored her and continued to pull up her sleeve until he could see the giant bruise that was splashed across her skin.

Naraku stared at it with an immense look of disbelief etched in his eyes. He slowly looked up and met Sumurai's gaze. He saw the panic and knew at once who had done this to her.

Naraku's eyes narrowed dangerously into slits as deep hues of fire engine red began pooling into them.

_I warned them,_ he remembered as he began snarling softly, but just loud enough for Sumurai to hear. She tensed up and pleaded with Naraku to let it go. "It's just a bruise, Naraku. It's nothing to worry about."

Naraku stared at Sumurai and asked her: "Why do you defend them? They hurt you!"

"But… Naraku…" She didn't bother trying to finish. It was obvious that Naraku would be oblivious to her answer. He was far more focused on the pride that lived just ahead of them.

_I warned them. I warned them that if they ever hurt her again, they would have to take it up with me. Well no matter how long it's been, I never said my promise had an expiration date. _Naraku started to growl as he stepped away from Sumurai. He turned in the direction in which her pride resided and took off.

"Naraku! Wait!" Sumurai yelled to Naraku's back.

_I warned them,_ he thought to himself once again. With every step he took, his eyes flashed a deeper red and burned darker with intense rage. _They hurt her, and now they will have to pay the price. _

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><p><strong><span>AN: Wow, that was intense :O What will happen to Sumurai's family? What will Naraku do to them? Find out next chapter! XD **

**Reviews, pretty please!**

**PS: Yes, I know playgrounds were not around back then but this is a fan fic so I don't care XP **


	11. Chapter 10: Never Again

**A/N: Welcome back! :D I felt very fuzzy writing this chapter, and I think you'll figure out why while you read it XD I certainly hope you'll feel the same way :) Enjoy! **

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><p><span>Chapter 10: Never Again<span>

Naraku burst through the trees and found himself in Sumurai's den. There were about 50 lions in that immediate area and they all turned their furry heads to look at him. Their already red eyes began to glow brighter as though they were trying to communicate a warning to him to stay away. Naturally, Naraku did not listen.

Instead, Naraku grimaced as he began shouting at them: "WHO DID IT?"

The lions stared at him, confusion evident in their scarlet orbs. So Naraku was more specific this time.

"WHO HURT HER?"

This man began reemerging from the memories of each lion one by one, and then their eyes turned to slits and they started snarling viciously at him. Now they remembered him. He was the one who was so rude and disrespectful to their Lady Tekkei almost ten years ago. They figured he had gone elsewhere, or died.

That was a big reason why they began hurting her again.

However, the bigger reason was that Tekkei was obviously not afraid of him and she convinced her lions that they shouldn't be either. She said to them that if he ever came back, she would not hesitate to kill him, and that alone seemed to suffice.

Naraku continued to glare angrily at them and was about to shout some more when Sumurai emerged from the bushes and half walked, half ran to Naraku.

"Naraku, please," She started but Naraku grabbed a hold of her and yanked up her kimono sleeve to expose the bruise to every lion that could see it.

"WHO DID THIS? WHO'S THE DEAD SONOFABITCH THAT DID THIS TO HER?"

The lions continued to stare and say nothing. Finally, Naraku lowered his voice, but it still held a very threatening tone.

"I warned you," he reminded them as he let go of Sumurai's arm. Sumurai stared at Naraku, not daring to say a word.

"I warned you that if you ever hurt Sumurai again, I would kill you. So, who did it?" No one stepped up to take the blame. So Naraku turned to the side and asked Sumurai: "Who did this to you? Who keeps hurting you?"

Sumurai did not reply. Although she could not see any of her family's faces since she stared at Naraku's, she could feel their gazes burning into her back as though they were trying to communicate to her: "If you rat any of us out, you're going to get a lot more than a bruise."

Naraku's patience was running thin. He was soon deciding that he would just slaughter every lion here but was saved from that thought when a male voice spoke up.

"What's going on here?" Naraku turned back around to see three male lions walking into the den. The one who had spoken was decent looking. He had dark hair that was pulled up into a ponytail, dark blue eyes; he wore lots of heavy armor on top of a dark blue and white kimono, bronze boots, and sported a scar that ran down the middle of his forehead and through his yellow sun mark. He glowered at Naraku and asked again, though this time it was directed specifically at him.

"What is going on here? Who are you and what do you want?"

"My name is Naraku and I am here for a very important reason," he replied, glaring at the lion. "And who might _you_ be?"

"I am Shimoda, head warrior and best fighter in this pride. What are you doing with my cousin?" Shimoda turned his gaze to Sumurai and smiled, but it was far from genuine. "It still hurts I take it?" He asked when he saw that she had her hand on her bruised arm. Sumurai glared hard at him as she brought her arm down.

A look of extreme surprise and anger passed Naraku's face as realized that _he_ was the one who hurt her. In one swift motion, he was suddenly standing in front of Shimoda, grabbing his neck with one hand, and holding him high in the air. Shimoda gasped and swiped his claws at Naraku but he was held to far away for them to make contact.

The other lions sprang into action and charged at Naraku but when they neared him, they found themselves being thrown back. Then they saw that Naraku had enclosed himself in large, purplish-pink barrier. They could not get close.

"I warned you all, that if you hurt Sumurai you would be killed," Naraku stated calmly and softly to the jerking lion in his hand. Suddenly, Shimoda's head snapped up and he met Naraku's eyes.

He smiled devilishly and asked: "You care a lot for the girl don't you?"

"I do, and I will not tolerate any kind of abuse towards her, be it physical or mental."

Shimoda smirked. "Don't waste your time on her, Naraku."

"Excuse me?" Naraku pardoned as his eyes narrowed even further.

"She's not worth it, Naraku. She's a traitorous, rebellious, self absorbed bitch. She doesn't care about anyone but herself and she would surely throw you away if she had no need for you. Best save yourself the trouble and leave her while you still can."

"… And I wonder why she is that way?" Naraku softly and sarcastically asked. Then Naraku tightened his hold on Shimoda's neck and snapped it. He tossed his body into a nearby tree and watched his armor snag on the branches. His body hung low enough for everybody to see it clearly and it sent the lions into fit of rage. They lunged again at Naraku but were deflected once more because he still had his barrier up.

_I have never seen Sumurai act that way towards anybody before. _Naraku thought to himself as he carelessly walked past the other lions and towards Sumurai, who held a look of disbelief in her eyes as she stared at her cousin's humiliated body. _If she ever showed any signs of that, then I wonder why that would be. Who would be to blame? The only answer to that would obviously be her family- all they did was abuse her, of course it would eventually develop that kind of attitude within her… those fools. _

Once Naraku reached Sumurai, he turned around to face her family once more.

"I warned you that I would kill you. I warned you, and you didn't listen. Well, I hope your satisfied- your foolishness and disobedience has earned you the death of your best warrior. Let this be another warning to you all, that I do not lie when I say there will be death to anyone who hurts Sumurai. The next person who hurts her will meet the same end."

Naraku took Sumurai's arm and led her away from the den, while the lions alternated looks of fear when looking at Naraku, and looks of disbelief and horror when they switched to looking at the dead lion.

Meanwhile, Naraku led Sumurai to a tree and motioned for her to sit down, so she did. Naraku then sat down next to her. He looked her in the eyes as he apologized for his behavior.

"I'm sorry, but I had to do that. I warned your family that if they ever laid a claw on you again I would kill them. You remember that, don't you?"

"… Naraku, I know. I remember everything you said that day. I'm not angry with you for sticking up for me." She looked Naraku straight in the face as she finished her thoughts. "But I NEVER want you do that again." She glared at Naraku, which caused a look of pure surprise to etch in his eyes.

"What? But Sumurai, they hurt you! Why do you let it go, brush it off as if it's nothing?"

"Because it IS nothing!" She shouted at Naraku, who recoiled at her outburst. "Listen, Naraku," she continued in a much quieter tone. "I think it's really sweet of you to defend me and that you would go that far for me, but I don't _want_ you to go that far ever again."

"… Why?"

"Because, _I_ want to be able to defend _myself_. I can't have everyone else doing it for me. I need to be able to stand up for myself otherwise it would be setting a bad example for other demons. And what I mean by that, is that if other demons see someone else standing up for my defense, they will think that I am weak and cannot do it myself. Therefore, they will come after me and the pride and just cause a whole lot of unnecessary trouble. And if that isn't enough, your threats may keep them at bay as far as hurting me goes, but they will never make them respect me. I don't want a pride who doesn't respect me as their queen. For us to be able to survive, we need to be able to trust one another and work together. If there isn't mutual respect, it won't work, and it could cause trouble for us because we won't function as well. Even worse, I could end up with rebellions because they won't believe that I'm good enough, strong enough to run this pride. Frankly, I don't blame them - I would be concerned if I was in their position."

Naraku completely understood now why Sumurai never blamed Naraku for never being around. Then he realized that even if he was around, she never would have gone to him for help anyway. It was a pride thing, literally, but it was also so much more than that. If Sumurai ever got help from him, it would prove to her lions that they were right in the fact that she was weak and unworthy of running their clan.

Naraku decided then, that he would always be there to help Sumurai only if she wanted it. He would not try to force it, and the rest, well he could only wish that she would be able to prove to her family that she _was_ worthy of being queen. He knew she would- he had faith in her. However, there was one thing he still didn't understand.

"Sumurai, I still don't understand why they hurt you. What could they possibly hold against you since you were a child?"

"… Oh well, probably because they're just jealous." She stated as-a-matter-of-factly. Naraku's eyes nearly bulged out his head.

"They hurt you because they're JEALOUS?"

"The reason that I'm destined to inherit the throne and not my anue is because after I was born, my mother went to the Lake of The Wise One and spoke with The Wise One himself. He revealed to mother that I would be the more suitable choice to run the pride following her death because I would lead her pride to glory even more exquisite than what they have now."

"I still don't understand. What could they possibly be jealous about?"

"Well, to be honest, Kihan told me that. When I was ten, I believe. I asked her the same question and she told me they were jealous. Looking back at it now, she was probably just trying to cheer me up- I was a child after all. She told me that I had power, beauty, kindness, intelligence, and that I surpassed every one of them in everything. But… other than that, I have no idea why they beat me. It's beyond my comprehension." Sumurai smiled slightly but it was so full of pain and sadness. It hurt Naraku to keep seeing that expression on her face. He wanted so much to get rid of it- to get rid of all her worries so she would never harbor that emotion ever again.

"I still don't want you to hurt them, Naraku. Whether they beat me or not, they are still my family and I need them. I can't survive alone, by myself."

"Sumurai, you're never alone. You have me, you have your other friends," he smiled reassuringly at her. "You can always talk to me about anything, and I promise you, that no matter what I will always be there for you. I would never, ever hurt you or do anything that would cause you pain. You're a wonderful person, a beautiful woman, Sumurai and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Sumurai stared at Naraku, feeling so very happy upon hearing his words. They erased any doubts she had about him, about anything. She believed his words and took them to heart.

"Thank you so much, Naraku." She smiled a true genuine smile at him just before embracing him a tight hug. Naraku immediately returned it.

_Never again,_ Naraku thought. _That look will never pass her face again. _He recalled the sight of pure emotional pain and sadness that had crept onto her features. It truly was incredibly heart breaking to see. _She will never have to go through any of that pain ever again. As long as I am here beside her, she shall never have to feel it. Never again…_

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><p><strong><span>AN: :D Sweet huh? :D Naraku is such a gentleman D; ...when he wants to be XD **

**More chapters coming soon ;D So in the meantime: **

**Reviews please!  
><strong>


	12. Chapter 11: Deceiving

**A/N: Hi hi! Well, I don't know what I was talking about when I said in the beginning that my A/Ns would be long... ah well. Nobody cares. Anyway, on to chapter 11! :D**

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><p><span>Chapter 11: Deceiving <span>

_Two weeks later…_

"Hey, Sesshomaru," Koga stared at InuYasha while addressing Sesshomaru because, well, he just couldn't take his eyes off of the sight.

"Oi, maybe instead of staring you could help, bastard!" InuYasha yelled to Koga.

"Why did you do that?" Koga ignored InuYasha.

"He was asking for it," Sesshomaru simply stated. "He was being annoying."

InuYasha was bugging him as usual but this time, he had taken Sesshomaru's pelt that he wore sometimes and pretended that he was Sesshomaru. So of course, he was acting stupid. Sesshomaru not only yanked his pelt off of InuYasha, but he also grabbed one of InuTaisho's swords off of the wall, grabbed InuYasha, and speared InuYasha's kimono to the wall. Now InuYasha was hanging about five feet off of the floor with a sword nailing him to the wall and he looked pissed.

"GET ME DOWN RIGHT NOW!" He yelled as Sesshomaru promptly turned away and started to gather his things.

"C'mon Koga, we're going to be late for school," Sesshomaru reminded his friend.

"Uh, but shouldn't we help him down first?" Koga asked while pointing at InuYasha.

Sesshomaru stared at InuYasha for a couple seconds before looking to Koga and saying: "Nah, he'll be fine. He'll find his way to the floor soon enough, especially since his enormous head only makes him that much more susceptible to gravity."

Sesshomaru and Koga left the house with InuYasha cursing them both out and swearing that he will kill them. No matter, Izayoi will get him down.

In about an hour, Sesshomaru and his group were walking up the path to Kashikoi's Demon Academy. When they reached the yard of the school, they found a large group huddled around something. The scene looked very familiar to when Lian had come to school that first day. Then they heard a bunch of female tiger demons talking excitedly talking amongst themselves.

"Omigod, he's so gorgeous!" One exclaimed.

"Omigod I know! He's so hawt!" Another gushed.

"He's so hawt I wanna bake cookies on him!" A third one expressed.

All of the guys just rolled their eyes. Sumurai grimaced. "Geez can you believe females nowadays?" She asked Sesshomaru. "Always gushing and worshiping the ground any good looking guy happens to walk on. Really, it's girls like them that make us seem so exchangeable."

"Harsh, Sumurai," Lian observed.

"It's true!" She insisted. "Makes me sick."

Koga began to use Sesshomaru to plow through the group of people so they could see what all the fuss was about. When they finally did reach the point of interest, they stopped dead in their tracks. Their eyes bulged out and their jaws dropped to floor. Sumurai almost passed out on the spot.

An absolutely gorgeous male demon was sitting at the base of a tree reading a book. He had long, curly black hair pulled up high into a ponytail and he was wearing a dark purple kimono and black boots. His eyes were a dark crimson red and his skin was a very pale hue. He had human ears marking him a half demon but most of the full youkai girls didn't give a damn. He was so fucking gorgeous!

_Holy crap, it's Naraku!_ Sumurai exclaimed in her head.

"Wow," Koga interrupted Sumurai's thoughts. "He's something ain't he? Sesshomaru looks like now you have competition for being the best looking guy in the entire school."

"Hn. I feel no reason to defend such a title, and since he's a hanyou, if looks are all he has going for him then it's not my problem if ends up in a ditch somewhere."

"Yowch, Sesshy," Shakudo pushed lightly on Sesshomaru's shoulder. "You're one hell of an ice queen, you know that?"

"Oh ha ha," Sesshomaru rolled his eyes.

"Hey Sumurai, where're ya goin'?" Moku yelled after her when he started walking towards Naraku.

Once Sumurai reached Naraku, she stopped to stare down at him. Naraku, who felt as though someone was watching him closely, looked up and met Sumurai's gaze. He smiled at her.

"Well hello there," he started. "What a surprise running into you here."

Sumurai chuckled lightly, a smile gracing her lips. "Hey there, Naraku. What brings you here?"

"Hmm? What, I can't visit my good friend every once in awhile?" He asked, his smile growing bigger, revealing two rows of pristine, white teeth.

"Are you enrolled here?" She asked him.

"Yeah. Although let me tell you, it took a hell of a lot of convincing for Niomi to let me come here." Naraku shrugged and sighed. "I wanted to spend more time with you, so I figured that enrolling here would be the best way to do that."

"Aw, that's really sweet, Naraku." Sumurai's smile grew. "Come here, lemme introduce you to my friends." Sumurai took Naraku's arm as he stood up and together they made their way to her friends, ignoring the dumbfounded stares of the other students.

By the time they had all introduced one another, the hawk cry had sounded and they all made their way to their first period class- fencing.

As they were sitting in the gym, Sesshomaru thought about how to think of Naraku. He was another half breed yes, but Lian was one too and he did genuinely think of _him_ as a friend. However, Lian somehow had power that Sesshomaru didn't possess. Besides that, once he had actually gotten to know Lian, he discovered that he was a very cool guy. So what of Naraku?

_I suppose I'll just have to wait and see._ He concluded.

When class got kicked off, students broke off into pairs and practiced using their swords. If it was of any coincidence, Naraku and Sesshomaru ended up paired together.

When they began practicing, it was already clear to Sesshomaru that Naraku wasn't exactly a newbie in the art of sword fighting. However Sesshomaru and just about everyone else in the room, who had paused and watched their practice, were shocked when the match came out as a draw. This of course, meant that Naraku could rival Sesshomaru in power.

_Kami, where are all these powerful half demons coming from?_ Sesshomaru thought with great exasperation. After all, where there are powerful half breeds, there are bound to be even more powerful full demons running around and he definitely wasn't looking forward to facing them.

Nonetheless, Sesshomaru was a demon of honor and he decided that befriending this half breed could serve him some good in the future. So when they shook hands as a sign of accepting the draw and silently complimenting each other on their skills, Sesshomaru also gave him a nod of approval. Naraku gave him a playful smile.

_Perfect,_ Naraku thought as he watched Sesshomaru walk over to Sumurai and the others. He slowly started to follow suit. _I've already gained the dog's trust._ Naraku's eyes began to glow and a sinister smile appeared on his handsome face. _Now all I have to do is to gain everyone else's trust completely and then… Well, it would of course, be their choice if they wanted to become my slaves or die. But more importantly, the closer I get to Sesshomaru, the closer I get to his father, InuTaisho. InuTaisho stands in my way a great deal. However, there's no question about it that I am too weak to face him right now, but in time it will not be so. And once that time has come, InuTaisho will die,_ Naraku looked over at Sumurai. _…and so will Tekkei. _

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><p><strong><span>AN: Yikes. So it turns out that that Naraku is not all sunflowers and pixies. There's a method to his madness! :O And that method is being deceitful- luring his prey into a false sense of security. Also you guys should remember that Naraku, no matter how nice or genuine he seems, is still the DemonKiller and he is still evil to the core. So what are the true feelings that Naraku has towards Sumurai? Find out his true intentions next chapter! **


	13. Chapter 12: Deceiving II

**A/N: Greetings everyone! Sorry I updated a bit later than I usually do. I am currently suffering terrible writers block DX so I apologize in advance if this chapter doesn't appeal to your interest very well :/ **

**Well anyway, this is technically part two of "Deceiving" where more deception concerning a certain demon will be explained. XD However, he's not the only person who's hiding terrible secrets... Read to find out who is! **

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><p><span>Chapter 12: Deceiving II <span>

_One month later…_

"I don't like this. I don't like this one bit," Niomi voiced her concerns to Naraku. They were getting ready for school and Niomi was waiting for Naraku to get his back pack. "I don't like you hanging out with them, Naraku."

For a long time, Niomi has been opposing Naraku's "friendship" with Sesshomaru and his group. She didn't understand why he had to do this. For the millionth time, she asks him.

"Why do you even hang out with them anyway?"

Without looking at her, Naraku replied: "Because I can use it as a cover, Niomi. They would not even suspect looking for the DemonKiller in midst of a school full of demons and half demons, much less befriending any of them. It's the perfect opportunity to hide until I grow strong enough to take down InuTaisho and Tekkei. After all, when you're friends with the Western Lord's son it would only make it that much easier to take him down. He won't suspect anything from me, he'll lower his guard, and when the time comes, I'll kill him. Simple as that."

"Okay, so what of your 'friends'? What will you do with them when it comes time for you to betray them?"

"I will give them a choice- serve me or die. I think that's pretty straightforward."

Niomi rolled her scarlet eyes. "But what if they find out who you _really _are?"

"They will _never_ find out. That's the point of LYING." Now it was Naraku's turn to roll _his_ eyes.

"Ugh, whatever Naraku. Just don't come crying to me if they figure you out." Niomi headed out of the cave once Naraku finally resurfaced from the back with this back pack.

Naraku smirked at her. "Glad to know you care so much."

"Of course I do, Naraku. You are my cousin after all and we are all the family we have. It would devastate me should I lose you." Niomi nonchalantly explained to her cousin. Her eyes suddenly widened slightly when she came upon a realization. "What are you going to do about Sumurai?"

Naraku stared ahead silently for a few seconds before answering. "… I'll bring her with me of course."

"Huh?" A look of confusion scuttled across Niomi's beautifully pale face.

"When I realize my domain, Sumurai will be with me. She will be with me when I slaughter those who do not comply, when I take over the entire landscape, when I become king and greatest DemonKiller that ever lived. She will be with me through it all."

Niomi scoffed. "You really think she will? When she finds out who you really are, it will devastate her. Cousin, I don't mean to be such a downer but she will HATE you for this. Friendships have ended under pettier circumstances."

"She won't." He assured her.

"How do you know?" Niomi raised a black eyebrow. Surely her cousin couldn't be _this_ self confident…

"I just know," was his simple answer. Niomi slapped her forehead. "She will always be beside me, no matter what." He elaborated.

Niomi stared at Naraku for a full minute. "Do you love her?" She finally asked him.

"… Yes." Naraku continued to focus on the path ahead, while Niomi leaned over to him and poked him in the shoulder.

"Then don't you think you should consider her feelings before jumping to conclusions? It wouldn't be fair to either of you otherwise. Besides, she's in love with Sesshomaru and I don't think she'll be all that thrilled if you end up killing him. Knowing Sesshomaru, there's no way in Hell that he will serve under you. It just won't happen, I can guarantee you."

Naraku directed his stare at the ground while pondering her words.

"If you really loved her," Niomi continued. "You would let her decide, and let her go if she doesn't end up choosing you. That's what being grown up and responsible is, Naraku. That's what it means to be mature and respectful."

"… In case you haven't noticed, Niomi, DemonKillers are far from responsible and respectful." Naraku made no expression as he kept walking towards the school. Niomi, however, halted slowly. She stared sympathetically after her dark cousin.

_Is that how he really feels? Somehow, I don't think so. Still, as long as Naraku accomplishes his goal as being DemonKiller, it shouldn't matter to me. Besides, I'm not exactly one to judge either—_

Niomi was distracted by her thoughts as her "friend" came running up behind her.

"Hey Niomi!" Kihan brightly greeted her.

"Hi Kihan!" _Especially since I'm doing the exact same thing… _

_Thirty minutes later…_

Naraku, Kihan, and Niomi were heading up the stairs to the front yard of the school when they heard a lot of loud noise. It sounded like a combination of jeers and shouting. The three demons looked at each other and ran up the rest of the way. When they entered the yard, they saw practically the whole school bunched up together. Many were silent but there were also many who shouting and cheering. However, it was not joyous cheering- it was egging-on shouting. As they got closer to the wall of students, they could make out some of the jeering.

"_Alright go get her!"_

"_That's right, show that slut her place!"_

"_Punch her lights out!" _

"_HOH SHIT!" _

There was suddenly a lot of cursing and group gasps happening.

"_OH!"_

"_HOLY CRAP, LOOK AT THAT!" _

"_BUDDA, SHE'S GOT HER TOUNGE!"_

"_OH HOLY CRAP THAT SO FUCKING SICK!"_

"_LOOK WHAT SHE'S DOING DAMN!"_

Naraku had enough of this and surged forward through the crowd to find out what was happening. When he reached the front, he halted and an expression of horror crossed his face.

Two demon females were sparring, one was a tiger demon named Ruka. Ruka was the official school whore but she had the money and power to watch her back. The other female was Sumurai.

Ruka was powerful herself and had connections so many chose not to mess with her. However, she and Sumurai often got into fights simply because Ruka could not keep her mouth shut. Ruka often spread rumors about Sumurai that were not true in the slightest, and Sumurai would take offense and then try to discourage her from spreading any more. Ruka would also insult Sumurai and Sesshomaru because as it turns out, she hates Sumurai for "taking" Sesshomaru away from her. She kept trying to go out with him for years but then Sumurai stepped in and that was it.

Ruka would say things that Sumurai was cheating on him, that she was a slut, a whore, that she didn't care about him, and often implied that she wasn't good enough for Sesshomaru. That accusation would stem from other rumors that said she was "damaged goods," a wannabe freak, loser, stuck up, conceited, self centered, etc. The latest one accused Sumurai of being a Demon Trainer.

Demon Trainers are demons who train other demons in the most inhumane way possible. It is said, although this is difficult to prove, that Demon Trainers will take in younger, weaker students and then train them. However, their whole idea of "training" involves beating the demon with almost everything they have. They justify this to the trainee by saying that they were hardly using any power at all, that it only seemed harsh because they were even weaker than they at first believed.

Weeks, months would go by and this treatment would continue but the weaker demon would firmly believe that the amount of damage inflicted on them only seemed exaggerated because they were so powerless.

Amazingly, the training pays off for the weaker demon and they grow stronger over time. Eventually, there will come a time where the Demon Trainer will finally deem their pupil "strong enough" to end their sessions.

However, this comes with a price- often times, Demon Trainers would invite their pupil to one last sparring match. When that match arrives, the Demon Trainer may or may not have some fun and put on a convincing show, but the whole point of that one "last" match, is for the Demon Trainer to eliminate their pupil.

Behind the scenes, what the student had no idea about, while the Demon Trainer was "training" them, they were also "training" their own power. Hence the reason they use it almost full force on the poor demons. They increase their own demonic abilities while seemingly increasing their pupil's.

Unfortunately, the match usually ends with the Demon Trainer killing off their student. Then the Demon Trainer heads off to find another sucker to "train."

Usually, the "suckers" are half demons whom the Demon Trainers manipulate their strong feelings of powerlessness that comes with being half human in order to lure them in.

To most demons and humans, Demon Trainers are vile beings and the way that they "train" is absolutely disgusting. Can you blame them?

This is why Sumurai, upon hearing this rumor, snapped into her most aggressive display of violence towards Ruka yet. There was no way in Hell that she would ever be associated with those vile creatures in any way.

Currently, Sumurai had Ruka slammed up against a tree and had her clawed hand wrapped around her tongue. Ruka was also suffering from multiple wounds such as scrapes, cuts, and bruises. Her left wrist and right ankle were also broken and her left arm was sprained.

"You seem to enjoy using this don't you?" Sumurai whispered in Ruka's ear. Her voice was very rough, her youkai echoed her speech. "It would be a shame to lose it." Sumurai tugged on Ruka's tongue, threatening to yank it out, while Ruka tried to twist free from her but every move she made put a massive strain on her tongue. "For you anyway. I daresay that I doubt any of us here would. Perhaps I should do us all a favor?" She yanked harder on Ruka's tongue, earning her a muffled scream of pain from the tiger demon.

Meanwhile, Naraku couldn't believe his eyes. Niomi and Kihan appeared next him, looking equally as horrified. Kihan was trembling and Niomi was dumbstruck.

The jeers and shouting only seemed to get louder as they watched Sumurai shove Ruka harder into the tree, still holding on to her tongue. The tree itself was threatening to collapse from all of the rough contact it was enduring.

Naraku looked to his left and spotted Sesshomaru and his friends who were also watching Sumurai, and they were making no attempt to try to cease her violent acts. They were the silent ones.

Naraku made his way over to them. "What the hell is going on here?" He asked Sesshomaru.

"A fight." He blatantly replied. Naraku stared at him a good long time.

"… I am aware of that, Sesshomaru." He slowly spoke. "I mean why?"

"Ruka opened her big mouth again," Koga elaborated. "She spread a rumor that Sumurai was a Demon Trainer and she got real pissed."

"What? I can't imagine Sumurai doing anything like this. She always absorbs the insults she gets from her family." Naraku couldn't believe the sweet girl he had come to know would do something so nasty and violent.

"Well, that's probably because it's her family. I know she seems pretty tame when it's them but out here, she can get pretty destructive. Her hostile tendencies are probably directly related to the way she gets treated at home. She's done worse than this you know."

Koga looked back to continue watching the fight but Naraku adverted his eyes to the ground. No longer could he watch this brawl take place. He could not bear to hear Sumurai's deathly snarls or Ruka's shrieks and squeals pleading for release anymore.

Naraku saw someone approach him from Koga's left side, someone with red hair- Ayame. She stood calmly next to him.

"I know. It's painful watching isn't it?" She asked him.

"How come no one is doing anything?" He answered her with a question of his own.

"Because it isn't our fight. You haven't been here that long but believe it or not, fights like these are not exactly condemned. In fact, they're almost encouraged."

"Encouraged?" Naraku raised his eyebrow at her.

"Kashikoi believes that fighting teaches us how to survive. In the real world, we will be fighting for practically our entire lives so he figures we might as well get used to it now. That doesn't mean he wants us to go picking fights for no reason, but that unless they get completely out of control, only then will there be consequences. He doesn't see any reason for us to be dueling to the death at such a young age so if a fight does seem like it's taking that course, then it would be appropriate for the staff to step in and punish those involved. Otherwise, everything follows the code of honor- it's not our fight so we shouldn't dishonor those involved by making more unnecessary trouble for them. That and there are some of us here who are sick enough to actually enjoy this type of entertainment." Ayame glared distastefully at a bear demon who had suddenly shouted to Sumurai to "rip the bitch's tongue out!"

"Disgusting," she muttered to herself.

"Koga said she's done worse," Naraku explained to Ayame. She snapped her head up to look at him. She seemed to be debating whether or not to elaborate on what Koga had claimed.

Finally she said: "Yeah, she has. Usually, if Sumurai gets upset at someone, she bashes their head a couple of times with her fist or pushes them into a wall or something. Anyone who's been beaten by her because of something they said have kept their mouths shut ever since, but Ruka is always pushing her limits. It's almost as if she _wants_ to get beaten within an inch of her life."

"Mmhm," Naraku nodded, encouraging her to continue.

"There was one time however, where Sumurai's temper flared so badly, she almost killed the student that was the cause of her anger. She ended up getting suspended for two months because of it."

"Another student?"

"Yeah, Ruka didn't become a problem for Sumurai until about a year ago. The student she almost killed was a weasel demon- his name was Senri. Senri was talking trash about Sesshomaru because Lord InuTaisho had slaughtered Senri's father the week before."

"I see. So what happened?"

"Well, Sumurai is very defensive when it comes to her friends. She treats us like she would normally treat her family, provided they weren't horrid abusers. Anyway, she stood up for Sesshomaru because Sesshomaru wouldn't do anything about it. He just ignored Senri but Sumurai was getting fed up."

"It's dishonorable if Sumurai got into a fight with him just to defend Sesshomaru."

"Well yeah but that's not how the fight actually got started. Sumurai did tell Senri to lay off but then he turned the tables on _her_. He started insulting her and her family. He said things like, at least _he _had a father to begin with, and that _his_ family loved him. He started saying that she was unloved and uncared for by her family because she was a bastard child, that she was a whore, that she was just trying to get in good with Sesshomaru for her own interests, AND he told her that she should just do the whole world a favor and go kill herself."

"WHAT?" Naraku could feel his own temper flaring up, his eyes stinging red.

"Yeah. That totally did it for her and she snapped. Sumurai started beating the living daylights out of him. She made deep gashes in his sides and chest and almost gouged his eyes out. The worst part of it though, was when she picked him up and threw him into the side of the school building. When he was hurtled through, he completely destroyed about a couple feet worth of wall and he landed right inside Katatsumuri Sensei's classroom. The throw had completely shattered almost all the bones in his body and Sumurai moved in on him again and attempted to hurt him even more. She would have killed him if Katatsumuri Sensei and Kashikoi Sensei hadn't stepped in to pry her away from him."

"Omigod…"

"Yeah, it was awful. Senri transferred schools immediately afterwards and Sumurai got suspended. We all visited her during her suspension, in fact the next day we went to see her. It was odd though, she was completely normal- almost as if nothing had happened. It was eerie." Ayame shuddered.

"However, her violent acts never ended after that, although I'm pretty sure you figured that part out. It's usually never more than a simple beating but she has gone overboard a couple times- one of them being now." Ayame stared at Sumurai. Sumurai still had a hold of Ruka's tongue and was still whispering words of massacre into her ear while shoving her harder into the tree.

"I really worry about her," Ayame confessed. Naraku looked over at her. "She's my best friend and a wonderful person. She's sweet, caring, and funny. It's just that sometimes when she gets really angry, she often loses control of her actions. I know it's not an excuse but I really do worry- she only seems to be getting worse. I wish there was something I could do to help her."

Naraku couldn't deal with this any longer. He strode over to Sumurai, immediately hushing the noisy bystanders. He tapped on Sumurai's shoulders, who twitched and turned her head to spot whoever it was that dared to interrupt them. Her glowing scarlet eyes found Naraku's and upon realizing it was him, she calmed down and released her hold on Ruka's tongue. Ruka, taking advantage of this, scurried away from Sumurai and towards her friend, Yori, a cheetah demon. Yori had been too much of a coward to help her friend but if she were in the same position, Ruka would be too much of a coward to help _her_ and they both knew it.

While the two cats ran off and the crowd dispersed, Sumurai's friends hurried on over to her. Koga started yelling at her about what the hell she had to go and do all that for. Naraku blocked this entire conversation out as he started thinking to himself.

_So it turns out that Sumurai is not as completely innocent as I had at first assumed… I… don't really know how to feel about it. I already know that I never want to see the look of pain on her face… the pain of sadness. But what about the pain of anger? The pain of hatred? _

_On the one hand, her personality would definitely make it easier for her to follow me without any regrets of leaving her friends behind. It would make it easier for me to convince her to be with me. On the other hand, I realize that I hate seeing her this way. I hate seeing any kind of pain on her face, be it sadness or anger. Neither of which suit her at all. I always want her to smile, smile that beautiful, pure, angelic smile. _

_I always want her beside me, but how can I manage that when she will surely be against it? I don't want to force her into it by manipulating her feelings. That's the last thing I want to do to her. After all, it's only going to cause her even more pain later on…_

_Well it looks like Niomi was right. My way of thinking isn't at all fair to her. I can't imagine how we would feel if I do carry out my original plan and it creates more pain. I don't think I can handle the outcome, especially if it was me who creates it. _

Naraku watched his "friends" feeling very conflicted. They started heading into the building so he followed them. Koga, Sesshomaru, and Lian dropped a bit behind to talk to Naraku. They all acted as if nothing had happened, even Sumurai seemed to be back to her cheery self.

_I don't understand how they can ignore this. Perhaps they are even bigger simpletons than I thought. Or maybe they just don't want to get involved. Either way, I suppose it doesn't matter. My biggest concern right now is how to decide what I want from Sumurai. _

_In my head, my youkai tells me I should not care- I'm the DemonKiller and I should take whatever I want, whenever I want._

_My heart says I need to let Sumurai decide for herself what she wants, and to let her go if she refuses. Just what Niomi was telling me earlier. _

Naraku looked up from the ground and stared at Sumurai, watching her flash that pretty, innocent smile of hers. He wants to always see that ray of warmth on her face for as long as they both live. But what should he do in order to see that happiness?

_What should I do? _

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><p><strong>AN****: Huh, so Sumurai is not always the sweet and caring gal we thought she is o Now Naraku is conflicted about what he really wants from her. He wants to be with her but he knows that what he wants won't necessarily be what she wants. And the last thing he wants is for her to feel pain. So what should he do? **

**Reviews please! :D **


	14. Chapter 13: Rhino Running

**A/N: Another drabble chapter! However, this chapter does signify a turning point in Naraku's life. I am going to go ahead and say that this foreshadows Naraku's future attitude toward his "friends"! Anyhow, enjoy! **

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><p><span>Chapter 13: Rhino Running <span>

_Summer…_

It was a very sunny afternoon and Sesshomaru and his friends were especially bored that day. They were all out for a walk near Death's Gorge. The canyon was fifteen miles long, half a mile wide, and 400 feet deep. They walked alongside it, admiring the sight.

Sesshomaru and Sumurai were deep in conversation about something, InuYasha and Hirota were involved in their own chat, Moku and Shakudo were play-shoving each other near the cliff, Koga, Ayame, and Lian watched with anticipation- in case one of them fell off, and Naraku was straying back behind them. He wasn't paying attention to anybody except the scenery around him- the bright green trees, the vibrant blue sky specked with snow white clouds, and the occasional critter scurrying to take shelter in a bush.

_Kami,_ he thought to himself. _Why am I here with these idiots? Do I really have nothing better to do? _He heard laughter and looked up. Koga, obviously bored with the shoving, had decided it would be so hilarious if he were to step in a puddle and sink in it. He had successfully done so, attracting the attention of Sesshomaru, Sumurai, InuYasha, and Hirota, and now everyone except for Naraku was doubled over in laughter. After a few seconds, Sesshomaru stuck his hand in the puddle and pulled Koga out it, sputtering and coughing, which only made everyone laugh even harder.

Naraku sighed. _I don't know how much more of this idiocy I can take. I'm just about ready to tear everyone's heads off… well except for Sumurai's. _He continued to stare at the ground while the laughter died down.

"Hey Sesshomaru," Koga called for the young lord's attention.

"Huh?" Sesshomaru looked back over his shoulder at Koga.

"You know what we should do?" Koga was smiling maliciously.

"No, what?" Sesshomaru asked the ecstatic wolf demon.

"A little bit of R&R! Eh? How does that sound?"

Sesshomaru caught his drift and smiled as well. "I think that would hit the spot perfectly, Koga. What do you think Sumurai?"

"I think that's a great idea!" Sumurai nodded quickly and smiled warmly.

Everyone else thought it was a wonderful idea and they made that known by noisily agreeing- well everyone except for Naraku. He stared at them, his wine colored eyes full of confusion.

Koga looked back at Naraku. "Come on, Naraku!"

Naraku reluctantly followed his "friends" to a sloping hill about three quarters of a mile north of Death's Gorge. The hill was a lush green with yellow and white flowers spotting it in groups of three to five.

The group slowly made their way up the hill. When they reached the top, Naraku saw that the hill sloped steeply downward. He also saw, riddling the way down as well as the pasture at the bottom, were about a hundred birds.

Upon closer inspection, the birds were large hawk demons. They had dark brown and white feathers, thick beaks that were snatching up mice and other ground critters, and shiny scarlet eyes.

Koga nodded to everyone and then turned to Naraku. "Just follow our lead," he instructed him. Naraku stared out over the birds, waiting for whatever they were going to do. Then he saw Sumurai step up out of the corner of his eye. She opened her mouth and let out an ear shattering roar that frightened the living daylights out of the birds, who took to the skies squawking. Then Sesshomaru stepped up and let out his own roar that had a bit more of a snarl to it, and more hawks abandoned their feeding nests.

Then Koga and everyone else shot down the hill, running straight at the demon birds. Naraku quickly followed them. They ran at the birds but never running into them, as they would fly off just before any impact could occur. Naraku didn't understand what this was supposed to do. Was this some kind of training?

"Sumurai," Naraku called for her attention. When she looked in his direction, he continued. "Why are we doing this? What's the point of this training?"

Sumurai laughed. "_Training_? This is just for _fun_!"

"Fun?" Naraku repeated. Sumurai laughed heartily some more.

"Hey, Naraku!" Lian called for his attention. "You really got to get out more often!"

"Yeah!" Koga agreed. "You know, FUN! Yeehah!"

Next to Koga, Shakudo and Moku ran by. Shakudo grabbed the legs of one of the hawk demons so the bird ended up pulling the snake demon up with it up in flight. "Yeehah!" Shakudo yelled. "Haha, hahahaha!" Then he let go of the bird, Moku jumped up to catch him, and he put him back on the ground.

Naraku still wasn't quite sure about this, but he did like the feel of the wind flowing through his hair and the exhilaration he felt as he ran. He couldn't help the smile that breeched his normally impassive face.

The entire group ran down the hill and continued to run across the flat meadow that had now turned to a dirt path and Naraku realized they must have run down into Death's Gorge.

He didn't care. He cared about nothing but that moment. Their laughter was contagious and Naraku soon found that he himself was laughing too.

They ran for what seemed like hours. Finally Naraku began to think about why they called it R&R when all they had done was run and terrify those bird demons. He didn't even know what it stood for. He looked over at Koga and was about to ask when he heard a shrill yell coming from Ayame.

"WHOA!" She screeched.

Everyone looked up and let out their own cries. Just up ahead of them was a pack of twenty rhinoceros demons. They would be impaled on their enormous horns if they didn't stop. Even Naraku understood this danger.

They all slowed to a stop right in front of them. Looking up, they realized that the bird demons they had terrorized earlier were perched atop the rhinoceroses. The birds shifted their glowing red eyes down to the group and let out ear piercing calls. This signaled the rhinos to paw at the ground and snort dangerously at them.

"AHHHHHH!" Everyone screamed and took off at a run. The rhinos began to chase after them, the ground quaking and trembling with every heavy step.

"WAHH!" Sumurai screamed.

"WHOOAA!" Naraku yelled, yet a smile had invaded his face once more. He was clearly enjoying the chase.

"I HATE RHINOS!" InuYasha shouted.

Everyone rounded a corner of the gorge and the rhinos soon reached the turn mere seconds later. As they stampeded away, you could see that the group had hidden themselves in a small cave that had eroded into the side of the cliff.

Everyone began laughing their heads off.

"Omigod, that was awesome!" Lian exclaimed.

"Just like always, never fails!" Moku agreed.

"Wow that was amazing! I actually enjoyed that!" Naraku was smiling with ecstasy.

They laughed some more.

When everyone had finally calmed down, they all squeezed out of the cave and headed back to Sesshomaru's and InuYasha's palace.

InuYasha and Hirota began chattering excitedly, Sesshomaru and Sumurai continued their conversation from earlier, and everyone else became wrapped up in their own little discussion.

"Hey Koga," Naraku requested the wolf demon's attention.

"What's up?" He asked.

"What is R&R?"

"It's what we just did."

"Elaborate please."

"Well, Sesshomaru and I kinda invented it by accident. We were really bored one day so we decided to scare off the local hawk demons. We chased them all the way down into Death's Gorge but we ran into a group of rhinoceros demons. Turns out, the birds and the rhinos are mutual friends so they didn't appreciate us terrorizing them."

"So they chased you?"

"Yup! Although, we actually got a real thrill out of it. We introduced it to everyone who entered our group. We only do it during summer though, cause that's when the rhinos are around these parts. It's just for convenience."

"I see. So you knew that those rhinos would be down there and you tricked me into going down with you?"

"I wouldn't call it 'tricked' Naraku, but it's just a game. Me and Sesshomaru did the same thing to everyone else."

"Okay, but why do you call it R&R? What does it stand for?"

Koga smirked. "Why it stands for 'Rhino Running'!"

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><p><strong>AN****: Okay I admit, it's probably a bit poorly devised but I'm still suffering from writer's block X_X **

**This is sorta like a drabble with meaning! If there is such a thing anyway. You'll figure out what I mean by that in the next chapter. I can already say that we will be skipping ahead about two years so there will be a significant change in Naraku's attitude. I will explain that occurence in the next few chapters to come. Also, I promise that the next few chapters will be a bit more exciting than this one. :P **

**Reviews please! :D**


	15. Chapter 14: Vicious Beasts

**A/N: This is officially my longest chapter EVAH! WHOO! O.O And just like I promised, more info about the DemonKillers! However, even if you never cared about that, I must stress that you PLEASE read this entire chapter. I know people are inclined to skip when it isn't talking about what they want to read but you MUST read this entire thing. Obviously I can't make you, but I will say that if you don't read the whole thing, you won't understand everything. There is a lot of very crucial information that you must know or you will be lost in future chapters, or you won't truly understand the full message or feeling that a chapter or part of a chapter is giving. **

**Anyway, hopefully this chapter should answer most, if not all, of your questions and I think it came out pretty well so I hope you enjoy! :D**

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><p><span>Chapter 14: Vicious Beasts <span>

_Two years later…_

Sesshomaru and Naraku were screwing around while they were waiting for Ijuuin Sensei, their history teacher, to begin his lecture. They were going to be given a crash course on the history of the DemonKillers in order to prepare for their final exam. They both knew they were going to ace it so they paid little attention. Instead, they decided that it would be much more fun to toss things at people around the room.

Normally, Sesshomaru and his friends would be seated together but this year they had assigned seats, much to their dismay. Koga and Moku were seated in the back, Sesshomaru and Naraku in the front, Ayame and Sumurai on the left, and Lian and Shakudo on the right.

At two minutes before the hawk cry, Sesshomaru turned around in his seat to throw a paper ball at Koga. It hit him square in the face and Koga pretended to be so surprised that he fell out of his seat. Moku laughed uncontrollably until Naraku tossed a book at his head, causing _him_ to fall out his seat.

Soon it was a war of flying objects. Moku and Koga versus Sesshomaru and Naraku. While they tossed books and papers at each other, all of the other students just read from their books or talked to each other, minding their own business as though nothing out of the ordinary was happening at all. This of course, was completely normal as this act of "war" usually did happen every day.

Finally, the hawk cried out the signal to begin class and immediately, whatever was in the air at that particular moment dropped to the floor. Koga, having gotten up to inch closer to Sesshomaru to unleash a sneak attack, was forced to retreat back to his desk. However, even if he hadn't been hindered by time, he still would have failed. Sesshomaru with his keen senses would have been able to sniff him out and thusly deliver him a blow to the face with a much heavier textbook.

Ijuuin Sensei stepped up to the front of his room and began his lecture. He informed the students to open their books to chapter 57, which included a basic summary of each DemonKiller.

As soon as each student was in their proper place, he began to read.

_**Chapter 57 Section 1.1: Naraku **_

_The first DemonKiller to ever live on this planet was Naraku. He set the cycle in motion when he betrayed his friends, Ketsueki, Suppai, and Gogyou, the demons of blood, acid, and water. Naraku was near death after a ferocious battle between the four demons and the three Western Lords, who were, at that time, a dog demon, Haruka, a lion demon, Ryuuga, and a snake demon, Nara. _

_His "friends," wanted him to live. So Ketsueki performed a forbidden ceremony that would transfer his youkai strength into his hanyou friend. This act is forbidden because a half demon cannot physically stand the power of full youkai energy because of their human half. The consequences would be very dire and often included death. However, Ketsueki and his friends were oblivious to this as all they wanted was their friend healthy and alive. _

_Well, they did get their friend back, just not exactly healthy. _

_The youkai energy built up in his body and soon Naraku could fight it no more. Both his mind and body succumbed to the powerful entity. This caused Naraku to lose all understanding of right and wrong, his grasp on reality, and his very identity. To put it simply, he went insane. _

_For centuries, he and his ex-friends fought. Neither was determined to lose this battle although ultimately, nobody won. _

_In the end, after two long centuries of bloody battle, all four demons fell. They died together amidst a burning forest and passed on together. Just before their deaths, Naraku had come back to them and their friendship revived. Though it was fleeting, the demons couldn't have asked for anything more. _

_**Chapter 57 Section 1.2: Nakashi**_

_The cycle had only just begun. The gods, feeling that the four demons had gotten off too easily, had devised a cycle that would leave them entrapped in the past until they believed that they had truly realized their mistakes. _

_The next DemonKiller was Nakashi. He was a son of spider demon nobles in the north. When he was but a young teenager, his family was slaughtered right before his eyes. This caused a change within him that left the young demon a thirst for blood. He lashed out at the attackers and killed them instantly. _

_He had tasted blood and discovered that he rather enjoyed the killing. Once he took control of the land that his family had owned before him, he set out to expand his empire. _

_He ran his kingdom with an iron fist, leaving no room for mercy. He killed anyone who crossed his path, tortured his prisoners, and spread pain and fear with every step he took. _

_After two centuries of his horrendous reign, the reincarnations of Naraku's "friends" appeared. Appropriately named "God's Demons," they made it their mission to hunt down Nakashi and destroy him. _

_They had no memories of their previous lives. They did not recognize their reincarnated friend. All of that was left in the past to rot and disappear. _

_For four centuries, Nakashi and his God's Demons battled for control. _

_Finally, when the turn of the century reared its head, they had their final battle in the heart of Nakashi's palace. _

_Using their combined strength, God's Demons put an end to Nakashi, unfortunately, in the process they lost one of their own- Gogyou. _

_**Chapter 57 Section 1.3: Naku**_

_One hundred years later, the third DemonKiller was born- Naku. _

_Naku was the son of scholars, so he was brought up in an education friendly environment. His whole family emphasized the importance of knowledge, so Naku was schooled in just about everything. Naku was very intelligent to begin with and every new bounty of knowledge served to increase his intellect. _

_Naku had a very happy life. He had a family that loved him, he enjoyed immersing himself in everything that the world had to offer, and he even had a girlfriend. His life was seemingly perfect. _

_Then it all came crashing down. _

_When Naku came to be 23 years of age, he killed his fiancée. _

_Nobody knows how or why, but out of the blue, Naku was no longer sane. It happened so suddenly. One day, Naku was smiling in the arms of his fiancée, the next she was in his arms limp and bloody, cold and dead. It is believed that his fiancée was cheating on him and when he found out, he killed her out of passionate rage. _

_No one knows what happened to Naku's family, other than that their colony had been burned down and destroyed. No bodies were recovered but it is speculated that they were completely destroyed in the fire and that it was Naku's doing. _

_A part of Naku died that day along with his fiancée and ever since, he had become a completely different person. _

_Naku began to take control of the lands and he killed everybody that stood in his way, whether they were innocent or not. He killed lords, mercenaries, clergies, villagers- men, women, and children- the old and the young- the sick and the healthy- the weak and the strong. _

_Naku reigned supreme for three centuries before his God's Demons were reborn. _

_Another three centuries passed with Naku and his God's Demons fighting. It seemed as though, that every battle ended as a stale mate. Bystanders worried that it would never end. _

_It did, however not without a price. _

_Naku was finally brought to his knees but not before taking one of his God's Demons with him. This time, it was Suppai who perished. _

_**Chapter 57 Section 1.4: Kure-Ji**_

_Another one hundred years passed, and the fourth DemonKiller emerged. His name was Kure-Ji. _

_Kure-Ji was the youngest son of ten, born to an average family of spider demons. However, this den was far from secure. _

_There was constant fighting going on around Kure-Ji. His brothers and sisters constantly fought for power within the family. Their parents had died in a war between the spiders and snakes, which left their children scrambling for their place as the "rightful heir." _

_Kure-Ji was the youngest and the weakest. He also happened to be born a very sickly demon. Thus, his older siblings left him alone because they did not view him as worthy or even threatening competition. _

_Kure-Ji watched as his siblings eventually began killing each other. _

_They still did not bother to do anything about their youngest brother. They continued to leave him alone. _

_All of this negative energy, fighting, and death were taking a toll on Kure-Ji. It wasn't long before Kure-Ji was the last of his family. He watched his siblings battle from the side lines, waiting for them all to finally kill each other off. And they did. After a decade long power struggle, Kure-Ji came out on top, without having to lift a claw. _

_Kure-Ji grew up to be a very deranged DemonKiller. All of the violence and hate that came with his childhood had affected him drastically. Kure-Ji became nothing short of completely insane, and in every sense of the word. _

_As he asserted his power over his domain, he cruelly tortured his prisoners and destroyed many innocent lives. He completely annihilated villages and killed everyone who intended him harm or disobedience. _

_A big part of his insanity showed itself in a psychological form. Everywhere Kure-Ji looked, he saw death. He saw rot and decay, which he constantly feared that he too would eventually become part of. _

_There was only one other thing that he feared- leopards._

_He hated them. He was frightened of them. At the time, leopards were steadily increasing in numbers and in power. They quickly became very formidable and they caused Kure-Ji nothing but problems. _

_**Note: Leopard demons look just like ordinary leopards except they are about twice as big and their eyes can change color depending on their mood. When they are neutral, their eyes are yellow. When they are afraid, they are green. When they are in attack mode, they are red. **_

_**Leopard demons are extremely fast, insanely strong, and have an uncanny sense of stealth and agility. It is also said, that somewhere along their evolution, they gained the ability to be able to sense their opponent's moves long before they are actually used, making them almost impossible to defeat. **_

_**Leopard demons often move in packs of fifty or more, so when they are hunting they tend to close in on their prey in numbers to surround and overwhelm them. Barely anyone who has come into contact with one of these beasts has survived to tell of it. **_

_Kure-Ji made it his goal to annihilate every leopard demon around. Despite the rumor about their sixth sense, he set out to eliminate them. _

_He actually got pretty far with it. He had exterminated over half of the population before his God's Demons were reborn. _

_Kure-Ji only continued to prove his deranged personality when he started skinning the leopards after he killed them and making pelts out their fur. He decorated his palace with the furs as wall hangings, carpets, rugs, and he even draped himself in them by making the furs into cloaks, capes, and even whole kimonos and obis. _

_Once his God's Demons came along, he had to temporarily abandon his goal of throwing the leopards into extinction. _

_Fortunately, he never resumed that plan because after three centuries of fighting, he was finally killed. _

_Unfortunately, before he died, he had killed two of his God's Demons- Gogyou and Suppai, leaving Ketsueki as the only surviving brother of this era. _

_**Chapter 57 Section 1.5: Kijo**_

_So passes another one hundred years, and history's first female DemonKiller was born- Kijo. _

_Kijo was conceived in a Wiccan village. _

_**Note: Wiccans are not witches. They do possess spiritual abilities but they are not like clergies who work under Buddha or any form of god. They are closer to priestesses in the sense that they are in tune with the forces of nature and use them for healing purposes. Rarely do they ever use their powers in battle. **_

_Growing up around wiccans, she soon came to be one. She learned everything there was to know about medicinal herbs and diseases. She learned how to use her spiritual powers to heal others and to ward away evil. _

_When Kijo was sixteen, she became engaged to a man whom she loved with all her heart. Everything seemed to go peacefully. Unfortunately, the gods intervened in her happiness just as they had done to every DemonKiller before her. _

_A demon raid ravished the village and bandits killed off almost everyone living there and burned it to the ground. Kijo watched helplessly as they murdered her fiancée and her family. When she witnessed the fall of her lover's body, something inside her changed. Her eyes pulsated and her aura increased and became tainted with malice. Kijo had become triggered._

_**Note: "Triggered" is a term used to describe a DemonKiller's descent into madness and hopeless despair. A "trigger" is a traumatic event that happens in a DemonKiller's life that enables their body to unleash the full youkai energy that was locked up ever since they had been conceived in the womb. This youkai power is thought to have been the original energy that Ketsueki had enhanced Naraku's body with while he laid dying. This power is believed to be passed down every time the DemonKiller is reborn and once unlocked, will poison and taint its host just as it had done to the very first DemonKiller.**_

_Now it was Kijo's turn to begin her reign of terror. This wiccan was no longer- now she declared herself a witch. _

_She kept a journal that contained her findings and spells that she used to heal the sick. Now however, the journal was used to contain her spells that she used to destroy. The book, just like her heart, had been cloaked in darkness and tainted with evil. _

_She became very powerful very quickly because normal demonic power stands little to no chance against pure witchery. Kijo was able to obtain control over almost the entire landscape in little less than two centuries. _

_Then finally, her God's Demons were reborn. This time, her God's Demons were female as well, and they were also wiccans. Although, they were wiccans that could use magic to attack. They could almost be dubbed witches, except that they did not use their spiritual powers to destroy- only to help, even though this meant that they had to kill. They had no choice. There was no alternative, as demonic strength would not be effective against Kijo's magic. After all, that was why they were born as wiccans in the first place. _

_They shot spell after spell at each other for five centuries, but nothing the wiccans could do, would bring her down. Their wiccan magic could still only do so much after all. _

_Eventually, her God's Demons realized that there was only one thing left that they could do. Their magic was simply not strong enough to kill her, as murder is not its nature in the first place. It never was and never will be. _

_Instead of fighting, they stole Kijo's journal and crafted a whole new spell- one that does not kill, rather one that seals. _

_During their last battle, they used that spell to seal her, and they sealed her inside of her journal. Miraculously, none of the wiccans had lost any of their sisters to Kijo. _

_**Chapter 57 Section 1.6: Shuurajou **_

_One hundred years later and the last DemonKiller up to date entered the world- Shuurajou. _

_Shuurajou was the middle child of a snake lord and a spider mistress. He had an elder brother named Toya and a younger sister named Miyumi. _

_Shuurajou was hated by his brother and shunned by his father. Why? Because they knew that he was the DemonKiller. They knew as soon as he was born because Shuurajou had a spider shaped burn mark on his back. _

_**Note: All DemonKillers are born with a spider shaped burn mark on their backs because it symbolizes destruction. It also doesn't hurt that the DemonKillers are all primarily spider demons. You can also identify a DemonKiller by their blood, which is of the color blue. **_

_Shuurajou was constantly beaten by his father and scorned by his brother. His mother and sister were the only ones who saw past him and loved him for who he was. Although, that in of itself was difficult because he was a very quiet, very secluded child. _

_When Shuurajou was sixteen, he couldn't take the abuse any longer. _

_He had once again pissed off his father and he was coming to beat him. Shuurajou didn't let that happen- he killed him. _

_The rest of his family came outside to find out what happened and when they saw that the snake lord had fallen at the hands of his son, Shuurajou's mother flew into a rage- he killed her too. _

_He had carried out both killings without uttering a sound. Even as he walked past his petrified brother and sister, he still said nothing. He just calmly walked through the gates of the palace that had kept him hidden from the world ever since the day of his birth, and disappeared into the thick woods ahead. His eyes revealed nothing- not of any remorse or guilt over what he had done, not of anything. They were void of any emotion. They had been that way ever since he was conceived- empty and bottomless. _

_Shuurajou began his climb to power. He gathered minions, obtained territory, and cleared his path of obstacles, which most of the time, happened to be anybody that got in his way. _

_It was only a matter of time before he became the most feared and most powerful DemonKiller in history. _

_Shuurajou had once decided to retrieve a sword, however, not just any sword- the Utengenyou. _

_**Note: The Utengenyou was sword that was foraged in Naku's time. In fact, it was crafted specifically for Naku by a famous swordsmith. Of course, he had no idea he was foraging a sword for a DemonKiller- he was tricked into it. **_

_**The sword was crafted out of a single scale that came from the Black Dragon, who, during Naku's time, was one of the most powerful demons around. Naku had killed the Black Dragon and brought the scale to the swordsmith in order to forge the world's most powerful sword. **_

_**Once the sword was completed, Naku tested its power on the swordsmith and killed him. **_

_**When the Utengenyou is activated, it transforms into a large black blade with a red dragon symbol that is etched along the blade as it transforms. When it is not activated, it thins out enough to fit in its scabbard and the dragon disappears. The scabbard keeps the sword and its powerful aura concealed as it releases a sickening aura when unsheathed, and if the hilt is touched by anybody that is not the DemonKiller, it will unleash a shock that will instantly destroy the intruder. **_

_The Utengenyou was passed on to each DemonKiller, from Naku to Kure-Ji, from Kure-Ji to Kijo, and now from Kijo to Shuurajou. _

_However, anybody with DemonKiller blood can wield the sword. When Shuurajou tried to obtain the sword from Kijo's official resting ground, Toya managed to get to it first. Being part DemonKiller, Toya was able to wield the sword and he used it against Shuurajou in every battle they had. _

_This had angered Shuurajou immensely but he never bothered to try to retrieve it- that was left up to Ketsueki. _

_When his God's Demons were reborn, they had not traveled together like they had in the past. They were scattered all over the map. _

_Toya and Miyumi first ran across Ketsueki. Ketsueki hated Toya and Miyumi for being part DemonKiller. It didn't matter that they were all after Shuurajou. Ketsueki wanted to eliminate anyone having anything to do with DemonKiller. He attempted to kill Toya and steal the sword but both objectives failed. Besides, the sword would never react positively to Ketsueki because he was not of DemonKiller heritage. That never stopped him from trying though. _

_They ran across Gogyou next and managed to recruit him into their group. When they came across Suppai, they did the same thing. Although, both demons were skeptical of the siblings but they went along with them anyway. If they did anything that meant that they were allied with the DemonKiller, they would kill them. _

_The last person they recruited into their group was a leopard demon by the name of Fuyou. She and her leopard demon clan specialized in mercenary work. Unfortunately, her family and younger brother were killed by Shuurajou. This made it easy for the group to recruit her because of their mutual hatred for the DemonKiller. _

_Meanwhile, Shuurajou found himself occupied with a certain human- a female human, by the name of Kaguya. _

_He had seen Kaguya just outside her human village one day and she had seen him. The female greatly intrigued him because she seemed to be the only human who was not afraid of him. _

_Eventually, the two fell in love. However, Shuurajou had to leave her because she was too young- literally. She was a minor. He promised her that he would never forget her and that maybe one day, if she hasn't already found someone else, he would come back for her. _

_Kaguya, who never did find anyone else, was determined to get on equal footing with her DemonKiller lover. First, she became a half demon by summoning demons and having them devour her and create a new, rejuvenated body. Then, she used her newly refined powers to kill and devour a celestial maiden to gain immortality and eternal beauty. _

_She was now powerful, beautiful, and immortal- just like her beloved. _

_Eventually, Kaguya and Shuurajou found each other again and got married, though they never did conceive any children. _

_Unfortunately for Shuurajou, Toya had also been in love with Kaguya and he was filled with rage when he found out that his younger brother had "stolen" her from him. There was now yet another reason for Toya to destroy Shuurajou. _

_Toya's group was actually not the biggest problem that Shuurajou found himself concerned with. His biggest problem for a long time was a demon by the name of Royakhan, and he was a guinea pig demon. It wasn't just him though; he was having problems with guinea pig demon tribes all over the country. It was because of Royakhan however, that the demons were even rallying against him in the first place. _

_**Note: There is a very crucial, very significant difference between regular guinea pigs and guinea pig demons. Regular guinea pigs are strict herbivores. Guinea pig demons are the exact opposite- they are strict carnivores. **_

_**Guinea pig demons are among the most vicious creatures on the planet. They live in very large tribes, sometimes up to over 700 guinea pigs. They usually burrow underground and can travel through accordingly. **_

_**The reason guinea pig demons are so vicious is because approximately, nine out of every ten guinea pigs are infected with rabies. However, unlike in regular mammals, rabies does not kill them. In fact, it makes them stronger. Just like in any ordinary mammal, it causes increased rage and insanity but guinea pig demons have managed to evolve so well with rabies that they have eventually come to a mutual relationship. **_

_**Guinea pig demons with rabies are extremely prone to psychotic attacks however. If the virus acts up in a way that the body still cannot quite handle, it can turn into a problem for both the host and just about every living thing around them. When under a rabies attack, the host loses all form of sanity and identity, and just basically flies into a rage. It will destroy anyone and anything in its path. You can easily tell when a guinea pig is on the verge of an attack- their eyes begin to pulsate and turn a deeper shade of crimson, their bodies begin to convulse, and an incredible amount of saliva foams at the mouth. It can take up to a couple of hours before a guinea pig eventually calms down from such an attack. **_

_**Guinea pig demons are twice as large as normal guinea pigs, they have lots of dark matted fur, and bright scarlet eyes. They have incredibly large fangs and claws for killing and eating meat, and also unlike regular guinea pigs, they can leap, climb trees, and tunnel underground. They are also very good swimmers. What makes them so formidable, are the facts that, despite their large size they can move extremely quick, and they can camouflage quite easily against the trees and the ground, making them almost impossible to spot. Burrowing underground also gives them the advantage of eluding an enemy or prey and allows them to sneak up on them. They often lunge out of the ground at the unsuspecting enemy or prey and take them down. **_

_Ketsueki didn't join his brothers for quite a long time because he found it disgusting that they would ally themselves with DemonKillers. Of course, by DemonKillers, he meant Toya and Miyumi. _

_Eventually however, he pushed all that aside and joined their group in fighting against Shuurajou. Soon after that alliance however, Toya, Miyumi, and Fuyou decided to pull out of the fight because they realized it was never truly their battle to begin with. The legend started with the DemonKiller and God's Demons, and it must end with the DemonKiller and God's Demons. _

_Finally, in the last battle, Shuurajou had murdered Gogyou and Suppai, leaving Ketsueki boiling with hatred. He chased Shuurajou into his castle where they continued their battle. _

_In the end, Shuurajou killed Ketsueki. _

_After he killed him, Shuurajou rushed down into the basement level of his castle and erected a barrier around himself. He did this because he had planted explosives all around his castle and they had all detonated just before he killed Ketsueki. Now there were surges of flames eating up his castle and they threatened to consume him as well. _

_This was where everything went wrong. _

_In his haste, Shuurajou had created a defective barrier. It spread out too thin and ended up cutting off his supply of oxygen. Not only that, but all of the youkai energy that Shuurajou had worked so long and toiled so hard to build up, was finally doing what it was meant to do. _

_It consumed him, devoured him alive. _

_The power of a full youkai was never meant to last, to survive in the weak bodies that hanyous possess. Eventually, it would have been too much for them to take, no matter how much stronger they got they would always be half demons. _

_The youkai power would have eventually consumed every last bit of the DemonKillers but their God's Demons would always kill them before it could happen. _

_But now, there was nothing left to take Shuurajou down, except for the very thing that made him invincible. _

_His youkai blood finally poisoned him to death. _

Just as Ijuuin Sensei completed the reading, the hawk sounded, signaling the end of class.

Sesshomaru, Naraku, and their friends grabbed their stuff and headed out the door. History was their last class of the day so now they were all heading to Sesshomaru's palace.

"So much information to absorb!" Koga complained. Sesshomaru rolled his eyes.

_Next day… _

Sesshomaru, InuYasha, Hirota, Moku, and Naraku were walking to school and picking up their friends along the way.

Once everyone was gathered, they began to discuss a disturbing topic.

"Did you get the letter that Kashikoi Sensei sent out?" Koga asked everyone with slight panic in his voice.

"Yeah," Lian replied, sounding just as panicked.

"I can't believe it!" Koga yelled.

"I know!" Sumurai agreed. "Letting a _guinea pig demon_ into the school!"

"Of all things!" Shakudo agreed. "They were banned from public schools for a reason!"

"If they're so dangerous," InuYasha started. "How come Kashikoi is allowing this one in?"

"I don't know," Sesshomaru replied.

"We're all gonna die!" Hirota shouted.

"You guys," Ayame alerted them. "It's just ONE guinea pig demon, and with what, like thirty highly skilled teachers in the school including Kashikoi, why should we be concerned?"

"Yeah, Ayame's got a point," Moku admitted. "There's no reason for us to be scared. And guinea pig demons can't possibly be _that_ stupid to try something with Kashikoi around."

Everybody agreed.

When they reached the school, they saw all the students had, once again, crowded themselves around the new kid.

Koga, once again, used Sesshomaru as a demon bulldozer and cleared a path for them to get through to reach the new student. When they finally reached said student, they were speechless.

The new student was indeed a guinea pig demon. It was also a "she." She had bright, luminescent red hair and enchanting emerald green eyes. She was wearing red kimono with white patches and silver boots. She deliberately paid no attention to the mob, instead choosing to allow her eyes to roam across the landscape around and above her.

"Whoa," Koga blinked twice. "She's a real beauty." Ayame elbowed him hard in the ribs.

"Haha, looks like you have competition, Sumurai," Lian joked.

"Hmph, she does look pretty, but not nearly as astonishingly gorgeous as I!" Sumurai replied and flipped her hair, both actions in a mocking tone. She wasn't actually that narcissistic but she liked to pretend to be.

"What do you think, Naraku?" Lian smiled mischievously at him.

"Hm?"

"You should go introduce yourself," Lian continued.

"Yeah," Koga agreed. "After all, you _are_ a ladies' man!"

"Indeed! You've already flirted with every girl here, and now we have a new one!" Moku teased.

"All right, all right," Naraku reluctantly agreed. _Although it's true, she is quite stunning,_ he thought to himself.

Naraku walked over to the new girl. He stopped right in front of her and waited until she looked up to begin talking.

"Hello, my name's Naraku," he introduced himself.

"… I'm Yumi," the guinea pig demon hesitantly introduced herself. Her speech was smooth and silky.

"Hello Yumi." Naraku gave her his most charming smile. Yumi stared at him, her eyes roaming up and down his body. Finally, she stood up and walked the remaining distance to Naraku but she didn't stop until she was right up against him. Naraku tensed a bit at the close proximity. He hadn't anticipated this movement.

"I know who you are, Naraku," she calmly stated in her velvety soft voice.

Naraku's eyes widened immensely. He smiled nervously at her and attempted to play dumb. "I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"I think you do," she argued monotonously.

"I'm sorry but I don't." Naraku was relentless.

After a long pause and awkward eye contact, Yumi finally spoke again.

"You're the DemonKiller… aren't you?"

Naraku's eyes became saucers.

_What?_

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><p><strong>AN****: Uh-Oh O_O **

**Yumi knows who Naraku is! That's not good- not for Naraku anyway O.o **

**I hope you guys enjoyed all that reading XD I swear this chapter felt sooo much longer as I was typing it X_X I know I probably gave a lot more information than I needed to, but at least I got the main points across. **

**So what will happen to Naraku now? Will Yumi spill his secret? Blackmail him? Find out next chapter! :D**

**In the meantime- reviews please! :) **


	16. Chapter 15: A Not So Secret, Secret

**A/N: This is a VERY short chapter and I apologize for that but I just had to get this out of the way. Actually, I think the rest of the chapters from here on out are going to be kinda short, probably no more than 2k words each. Hope that won't bother you. **

**I also apologize for the general rushness that this chapter probably gives off but most of the following chapters are going to be more or less the same as this one until the very end. Until then, enjoy! :D**

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><p><span>Chapter 15: A Not So Secret, Secret <span>

"You're the DemonKiller," Yumi calmly stated, no look faltering in her eyes.

Naraku stood there, staring. _How does she know?_

"It's okay," she assured him. "I won't tell."

Naraku's bulged eyes quickly narrowed into slits. "And how can I trust you?"

"I can't force you to trust me," she answered. "But I will say this: you and I are very similar- wanting to fit in but can't. Wanting to prove that there is something more to us, to prove that there is more than meets the eye, and to prove that we are not who we are made out to be."

"I don't understand." Naraku had no clue as to where she was going with this.

"You do. You understand very well, Naraku. You and I are monsters. You, the DemonKiller, a ferocious beast that feeds on just about every living thing, creating horror and causing devastation wherever you go. I am supposedly the same- at least society seems to think that way. But there is some truth to the matter."

Naraku waited for her to elaborate on that but she didn't. Instead, she said: "Those before you were monsters. You, however, you are not."

Naraku raised an eyebrow. "I'm not a monster, huh?" He smirked.

"You're not." Yumi gave him a serious look. Naraku realized she wasn't joking and a look of confusion wrapped his face.

"You are not a monster," she repeated. "I knew it from the first moment I laid my eyes on you. I knew at once Naraku, that you were different from all the others."

"I'm… different?" Naraku could not conceal the surprise in his voice.

"Yes. You are much purer than the others, much… happier." She gave him a slight smile.

Naraku's eyes returned to their original size and shape. He pondered her words. _I'm happier than my past lives were? _Naraku turned his head around slightly and stared at his companions who were talking and laughing about something unknown and he slightly smiled. _Well, maybe I am. _

The hawk cry flew across the yard and all students began pushing and shoving their way inside the building. Yumi walked back to the tree she was originally sitting under and retrieved her things. Naraku was about to return to his friends when Yumi walked passed him without saying anything.

Naraku watched her get closer to the front doors and finally he shouted to her: "Yumi!"

She turned around and looked at Naraku, who was now jogging over to her. "Why don't you come sit with my friends and me? You have the same schedule right?" He smiled at her.

Yumi smiled back at him and said: "Okay."

Naraku and Yumi walked over to his friends and introduced each other before heading into the building. From what Naraku could tell after watching Sumurai, Ayame, and Yumi hitting it off so well, he knew that she was going to fit in just fine.

He also realized something. His friends had changed him in more ways than one. He found that it had become much easier to trust. He understood that trust was a very fragile thing, but he also understood that trust can become stronger than the toughest steel when anchored in the right place or this case, the right people.

He knew that he could trust her, Yumi. He felt a connection between the two of them and perhaps she was right about them being similar. He being who he was and she being who she was, were both hammered in the minds of youth by society as being awful creatures scorned by Hell itself.

Unfortunately, most of the time society was proved right.

However this time, he was determined to prove them wrong. He knew that together, he and Yumi and their friends, would have each other's backs the whole way. Together, they would prove to the world that they were no longer whom everyone had believed them to be and will, hopefully, be able to gain their trust back as well.

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><p><strong>AN****: So what does this mean? Naraku has made friends with Sesshomaru and the others? What about his destiny? Find out in the chapters to come! **

**Also, if you don't understand what Yumi meant by being a monster, remember that she's a guinea pig demon. If you're still clueless, please refer to the last chapter towards the end under _Shuurajou_ and look for the bolded note that talks about guinea pig demons. **

**Reviews please! :D**


	17. Chapter 16: Soukon

**A/N: I forgot to mention that Sesshomaru and his friends have been 16 years old and InuYasha and Hirota have been 14 since chapter 14. Hehe, sorry :P Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter! :) **

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><p><span>Chapter 16: Soukon<span>

_Three months later…_

Naraku and his friends were walking in the dark woods surrounding InuTaisho's castle grounds. The acres around the castle were dark and mysterious. Many demons in the area would roam the woods, but would never enter the grounds, thus making InuTaisho anxious about Sesshomaru and his friends walking through there.

He told them about the many demons in the area, and how they were not to be underestimated, especially one demon in particular- Soukon.

Soukon has been around ever since Shuurajou's time. He is a leopard demon and also happens to be the leader of the entire population. However, it would have been difficult to tell if there was even a population at all because many leopards hid in fear. Soukon was one of the few brave souls who dared to linger out in the open for Shuurajou to snatch up. Also, he was one of the few leopards who actually survived during Shuurajou's reign, and that is what scares people the most.

Many demon lords believe that luck was not the factor in Soukon's survival. They think that he must have a secret power of some sort. Especially since he was a big enemy of Shuurajou- he was constantly leading rebellions against him. This is why InuTaisho warns Sesshomaru constantly about wandering in and out of the forest, with Soukon on the loose and all.

Koga and Ayame were falling behind because they were too busy snogging each other to keep up. Sesshomaru, Sumurai, and Naraku were discussing their life plans for after Demon School, Shakudo, Moku, Lian, and Yumi were busy talking about something else, and InuYasha and Hirota were practicing their agility by leaping from tree to tree.

"Naturally I'm going to take over my father's domain," Sesshomaru explained. "Once I have, I'm going to explore the world and realize the rest of my empire."

"I guess I'll be seeing you a lot during that time then, huh?" Naraku smiled and chuckled lightly.

"You guys, you guys, you forget: the rest of the world will be under _my_ control," Sumurai argued, her face sporting a grin.

"I won't take your competition lightly, Sumurai," Sesshomaru challenged her playfully.

"Ooh I'm so scared!" Sumurai teased while shoving him slightly.

"Hey, hey, what about me?" Naraku reminded them.

"What about you?" Both demons inquired.

"Maybe I want control over the lands too." He explained.

Both demons tried to hold back their laughter but the redness in their faces was hard to miss.

"What? You guys don't see me as worthy competition?" A slight pout grazed Naraku's pale face. "Is it because I'm a half demon?"

"Oh it's not that, Naraku," Sumurai assured him. "We know you have enough power to stand up against Sesshomaru. I'm sure you will be a worthy opponent in the future." She slapped his shoulder.

"Not if I can help it," Sesshomaru mumbled under his breath. Naraku took Sesshomaru's neck in a head lock and attempted to play-wrestle him to the ground.

"Ow, ow! Let go!" Sesshomaru yelled at Naraku through his laughter.

As the rest of their friends caught up with them, Naraku released Sesshomaru's neck.

"What happened over here?" Lian asked.

"Oh nothing much," Sumurai replied. "Sesshomaru just got what was coming to him."

"Heey!" Sesshomaru objected.

They all started laughing again except for Naraku, who was looking around the area suspiciously.

"Is something wrong Naraku?" Yumi asked him.

Naraku was silent for a while. Finally he suggested: "I think we should get moving."

"Okay but what's the hurry?" Yumi pressed.

"Just… I don't think we're safe here that's all."

As if on cue, a large, heavy-set leopard demon leapt from a tall tree above them and landed on the ground in front of them. He had startling scarlet eyes and bright yellow fur, razor sharp claws and fangs, and the fang on the left had a long, deep scar on it. He snarled viciously at them, preparing to attack.

"Soukon," Naraku assumed and glared. As if confirming, the leopard's eyes narrowed and he uttered a low growl.

"SHIT! We gotta get out of here!" Koga shouted.

Naraku stood his ground and assumed a challenging position, showing Soukon that he was prepared for a fight.

"Naraku don't!" Yumi shouted at him.

Too late.

Soukon lunged with frightening speed at Naraku who easily leapt out of the way. Naraku had avoided it by leaping upward, so Soukon rebounded his paws against the ground and pushed himself upward into the air and slammed into Naraku. This forced them both to the ground.

"Naraku!" InuYasha shouted.

Naraku managed to throw Soukon off of him with enough force to send him slamming into a tree. However it was only a minor inconvenience for him as he immediately picked himself up and charged at Naraku once more.

He quickly approached Naraku and raised his claws. They came crashing down on Naraku before he could get out of the way in time and they sliced across his chest.

Naraku immediately covered his wound by ripping a sleeve off of his kimono and wrapping it around the injury. Because he was the DemonKiller, his blood would be blue instead of red, and that would be a dead give-away to his real identity.

Luckily for Naraku, no one noticed.

In that time, Soukon turned his attention to Naraku's friends and ran at them this time. Sesshomaru and Sumurai began to take offensive positions but Naraku leapt in front of them, blocking the leopard's path.

"Leave them alone," he commanded Soukon. The leopard's eyes became slits and snarled deeply.

Naraku shoved his claws at Soukon but he easily dodged them. Naraku prompted the leopard to chase him so he could give his friends some time to escape.

"We need to help him!" Hirota told his friends.

Right then they heard the roar of the leopard above them. When they looked up, they saw that Naraku had led Soukon into a tree and somehow, he managed to achieve greater height than Naraku, because they witnessed Soukon leaping down from above onto Naraku.

They both tumbled out of the tree and landed harshly on the ground below.

Soukon picked himself up faster than Naraku did and he dove at him, knocking him to the ground once more. Now the leopard demon was hovering above Naraku and his fangs came bearing down on him, ready to rip his throat out.

"Naraku!" All of his friends screamed. Koga, Sesshomaru, and Lian began to run towards their friend and the leopard in an attempt to help him.

Before they could get close however, Naraku's eyes glowed red and he used his feet to push Soukon off of him and then he leaped on top of the demon.

They wrestled for dominance for a few seconds before Soukon quickly became the victor. That victory was short lived though, when Naraku once again managed to throw him off.

Soukon landed on all four paws and ran at Naraku again.

This time Naraku was prepared.

As the leopard demon got closer, Naraku raised his claws. Right when Soukon leaped at him, Naraku plunged his claws right into his chest.

The demon's eyes widened in shock and blood began to gush from his body when Naraku pulled his claws out.

Soukon fell to the forest floor but picked himself right back up again. He gave Naraku a parting glare and took off into the woods, spraying blood with every semi-graceful step.

His friends were dumbfounded. Soukon was a far from easy opponent. He rivaled Shuurajou and even gave InuTaisho and Tekkei trouble from time to time. They thought it was amazing how Naraku could stand up to him, let alone actually _beat_ him. Needless to say, they were both thrilled and relieved.

"Omigod! That was awesome Naraku!" Ayame gushed.

"Yeah! You definitely showed him what's for!" Moku agreed.

"I have to admit, that was pretty impressive." Sesshomaru confessed.

Most everyone was feeling very happy and proud of Naraku except for one.

"Naraku," Yumi required the spider's attention. Naraku and his friends turned to her. "What you did was extremely foolish. What made you think you could take him on?"

"Yumi, I-" Naraku tried to explain.

"Your victory was nothing but dumb luck! You could've died!" Her eyes strayed to Naraku's wound right before she turned around and ran off through the woods back to InuTaisho's palace.

"Yumi wait!" Naraku took off after her. His friends decided it was not their place to interfere so they started their own trek back to Sesshomaru's and InuYasha's home.

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><p><strong>AN****: Just warning you now, the next chapter will probably be extremely short. Anyway I hope you enjoyed it! **

**Reviews please! **


	18. Chapter 17: That's All That Matters

**A/N: As it turns out, this chapter actually came out a bit longer than I expected it to XD **

**I apologize ahead of time for the corny-ness of this chapter but I still hope you will like it :D **

**Chapter 17, everybody! **

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><p><span>Chapter 17: That's All That Matters <span>

"Yumi wait!" Naraku ran after her. Unfortunately, she was incredibly speedy and could very easily dodge around trees and roots. Naraku wasn't exactly having any difficulty with that, she was just a lot faster at it than he was.

"Yumi! Please wait!" He pleaded with her.

Finally, Yumi stopped running and waited for Naraku to catch up. When he did, she turned to face him.

"Yumi, please listen to me." Yumi obediently kept silent. Naraku stared into her green eyes and continued. "I know it was foolish of me to get involved like that, but it was only because I wanted to protect you guys. You know that."

Tears started to build up in her eyes. "I know, Naraku. I'm sorry for yelling at you like that. I'm proud that you were able to fend him off but… I was so frightened the whole time. I was so afraid that you would be killed."

"Yumi…" Naraku wiped the tears that had so foolishly fallen upon her delicate cheeks. "I'm so sorry I made you worry so." He embraced her.

"I never meant to frighten you or any of my friends. I just wanted to protect you. I would never forgive myself if I allowed anything to happen to any of you." Naraku's voice became a whisper as he tightened his hold on Yumi.

They held each other for a good five minutes before pulling away. Naraku ran a hand through Yumi's soft, scarlet colored hair.

"Naraku," Yumi requested his attention.

"Hm?" Naraku looked at her.

"You're very brave… foolish… but brave."

Naraku chuckled. "Thank you, Yumi."

They both started to head off back towards their friends when Naraku stopped. Yumi looked behind her and backed up toward him. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"I just want to ask you something."

Yumi blinked. "What?"

Naraku hesitated before continuing. "Well, first: I wanted to let you know that I understand completely why you said that you were similar to me as far as being a 'monster' goes."

Yumi continued to stare, not exactly sure where he was going with this.

"You weren't just referring to the fact that you are a guinea pig demon were you?"

Yumi blinked again but this time, she understood what he was trying to say. She started to get nervous.

"You have rabies." Naraku had no look of accusation in his eyes, rather it was of understanding and sympathy.

Yumi diverted her stare to the ground and started fidgeting with her kimono.

"That's why you leave in the middle of class almost every day."

Yumi slowly nodded.

"Plus, I… I saw you last week… having an attack."

Yumi's head snapped up and her shock filled eyes met his soft ones.

"It… was very… difficult to watch, because I knew there wasn't anything I could do to help make the pain go away." Naraku stepped up to her and Yumi flinched. However Naraku ignored it and hugged her a second time. "I know how hard it is to go on every day knowing what you truly are, keeping safe the secrets that you harbor deep inside. It's hard when it's just yourself dealing with the pain because you know that no one else will ever understand it."

Yumi was silent for a while; they both were.

"We are the only ones who truly understand each other," Naraku continued. Yumi looked up at him curiously. "I know all of our friends mean well, but if they knew what we truly were… I don't know."

"You don't trust them?" Yumi inquired.

"I don't trust that they can handle the truth… at least, that's what I'm afraid of." Naraku confessed.

"Well, if it worries you that much, we don't have to tell them anything. I mean, as long as we have each other nobody else needs to know."

"We have each other…" Naraku repeated. "Nothing else matters."

Yumi leaned up and Naraku leaned down, and both their lips connected in a passionate kiss.

They stood for what seemed like hours, embracing, kissing. Finally, when they came apart, breathless and red, Yumi confessed: "I love you, Naraku. I loved you ever since I first saw you."

"I love you too, Yumi, and I will do everything in my power to keep you safe."

Their mouths came together once more and they felt that truly, in that moment of peace, nothing else in the world mattered to them except for each other. They would fight for one another, lie for one another, and die for one another.

Nothing and nobody anywhere could separate them, not them- the two monsters of harmony. Even, should their own friends abandon them because they just couldn't deal with what they were, they would always have each other. They would always rely on each other, love each other for eternity, and that's all that matters.

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><p><strong>AN****: Yeah, I warned you guys in like the first or second chapter that I'm not very talented at writing romance but I gave it my best shot. :) Hope it wasn't too horrible (or cheesy) XP **

**Reviews please! **


	19. Chapter 18: A Change in Plans

**A/N: Hey guys. I apologize for the late update, but recently I have fallen ill and it's been pretty bad the past couple of days. The only things I could do were eat and sleep, and I could barely do either of those. There was no way I would have the capacity to think so I just slept the last two days away. X_X **

**Anyway, once I started to feel better, I got back to writing this. I hope it turned out alright but if it didn't, BLAME IT ON THA FEVAH! XD Haha, just kidding. ;) **

**Oh yeah, Sesshomaru and his gang are now 18 years old, Kihan and Niomi are 20, and InuYasha and Hirota are 16. **

**Here's chapter 18, everybody! :D**

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><p><span>Chapter 18: A Change in Plans <span>

_Two years later…_

Sesshomaru, Naraku, and their friends were hanging out by the cafeteria of their school. They had only one week left of school before they graduated. For fourteen years, most of them have been going to the same school, and now they could hardly believe that soon they would leave it, become adults, and make the outside world their playground.

"I'm excited yet sad at the same time," Koga admitted.

"We all are," Shakudo explained. "But soon, it will be a time of new adventures and experiences."

"Kami, that was so corny right there Shakudo," Moku joked.

The hawk cry sounded and alerted the students to enter the building for the beginning of school.

_After school…_

"I'm still going to have to wait for some time, but I'm really looking forward to taking over as the leader of the Wolf Demon Tribe." Koga was clearly excited about it and Ayame was just as excited about becoming leader of the Northern Mountains Tribe and then marrying Koga.

"It won't be long now!" Ayame exclaimed.

_Two hours later…_

Naraku was leaving Sesshomaru's home because Niomi wanted him back early.

_Jesus… _He internally swore. _She's too overprotective. _But he thought this with a smile. He really did care for his cousin.

When Naraku arrived at his cave, he found Niomi waiting for him outside with that "look" on her face. She was clearly not happy about something.

He stopped right in front of her.

"Naraku," she started. We need to talk."

"About what?" Naraku asked.

"About your 'friends'," she answered.

"What about them?"

"About you hanging out with them all the time."

"I don't understand."

"Naraku, I thought you were only using these guys as a cover. I was a bit suspicious at your sudden enthusiasm to always hang around them 24/7 a couple years ago. I let it go but now I hear that you've become attached to one of them. What do you think I mean by 'attached' Naraku?"

"How should I know?"

"You _should _know."

"Well, you should understand quite clearly, that I am not 'attached' to one of them."

"Oh good. I admit I was a bit worried at first but—"

"I'm attached to ALL of them."

"WHAT?"

"Do I have to repeat myself?"

"Bu- bu- bu- but WHY?"

"I don't really have to explain, do I?"

"What happened to our plan, Naraku?"

"_Our_ plan? I do believe it was _my_ plan from the very start, Niomi. I do regret that I never told you earlier but there has been a _change_ in plans."

"A _change_?"

"Yes. The plan is: there is no plan."

"… WHAT?"

"You know I hate repeating myself."

"Naraku what do mean there is _no plan_?"

"I mean exactly what I say."

"But—"

"No buts Niomi."

"I don't believe you. What was all this for then? What do you plan to do now?"

"… Live the way _I _want to."

Niomi blinked several times. "Come again?"

"I thought about this long and hard, Niomi- for the past two years. A while back, I finally realized: why should I have to live this way? Why should I have to dictate my life according to a stupid legend? I'm happy being with my friends. I have never regretted saving Sumurai nor do I regret befriending any of them. In fact, I think that becoming their friend really did me some good. They knocked some sense into me, Niomi. They taught me that there is a life for me, other than this. They taught me how to trust, how to love, how to care, how to laugh, how to be truly happy. I cannot even begin to describe how grateful I am to them for everything they have done for me."

"… Wow. I had no idea you felt so strongly about this."

"I do, and there is nothing you or anyone else can say to change that."

"Why do I have a feeling that if Shuurajou had actually returned to mentor you, you would never have fallen so low?"

"Pft. I could hardly care less about that mass of rotten evil. And obviously, he could care less about _me_. His spirit was supposed to have returned to the land of the living in order to teach me the ways of the DemonKiller and how to survive in this world, but he hasn't. Frankly, if I survived this long without him, I can continue to do so. It won't even be a chore with my friends around."

"Naraku… when did you become such a _sap_?"

Naraku's eyes narrowed. "A sap?"

Niomi's eyes thinned as well. "Yes. What's happened to you? You're not the Naraku I remember."

"You're right. I'm not. Now are you satisfied?"

"No- just disappointed. When did the cousin I had come to know and love, stoop so low? Become so soft, weak, and pathetic?"

Naraku's eyes became like slits and a red aura began to seep from them as he rushed forward to grab his cousin by the neck with his claws. He held her high in the air and slowly began to compress his hold on her neck in order to suffocate her. Niomi however, continued to stare at him with a blank expression- she knew he could never have the guts to murder his own cousin, the only family that he has.

And indeed, eventually, Naraku released his grasp and dropped her to the ground.

"See? You could never do it," she pointed out. "If you were the Naraku from two years ago, you would have snapped my neck with no hesitation at the _slightest_ insult. You would have never waited this long, I would have never been allowed to get this far. That's how weak you've become, Naraku."

"… Maybe I don't care anymore." Naraku retorted.

"You have to care. You're the DemonKiller."

"Then maybe I don't WANT to be the DemonKiller anymore!"

Niomi gasped.

"You heard me!" He insisted.

Niomi gaped at him; utter shock clearly expressed in her crimson eyes. "Who… who are you?"

Naraku eyes slowly began to glare. "I am Naraku, and you should know that by now."

Naraku turned away from his statue-still cousin and stormed off into the woods ahead.

When Niomi finally recovered from her shock, the look that replaced it in her eyes was of heated anger. Her eyes narrowed into slits once more and her hands clenched into fists.

_If Naraku won't do it,_ she thought. _Then _I _will. _

Right at that moment, Kihan emerged from the cave, her shock filled expression leading to believe she had heard everything.

"Kihan," Niomi requested her attention. When she had it, she continued. "You know what we must do now."

"… Yes, I do." Kihan walked up to Niomi and stood by her side, staring at the exact spot where Naraku had disappeared.

"I think it's time we finally take matters into our own hands…"

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><p><strong>AN****: Naww, that turned out pretty well, I think :P **

**So Naraku has officially decided to abandon his destiny as the DemonKiller. But can you really just throw away something that was meant for you, decided for you, and dictated for you since before you were born? And what are Niomi and Kihan planning to do anyway? Find out in the next few chapters to come! **

**Like I always say: Reviews please!**


	20. Chapter 19: A Promise

**A/N: Hey, hey, hey! Sorry for the late update, but I've been a bit preoccupied with playing Call of Duty 2 XD **

**Anyway, unlike the last chapter, I didn't have a lot of inspiration flowing through my brain but I'm pretty satisfied with what came out. Hope you enjoy it. :) **

**IMPORTANT NOTE: I will NOT be doing any more A/Ns in any of my chapters until the very end. Yep, that's right- this story is nearing it's end! This only has about three to five chapters left. **

**I am ceasing the A/Ns 'til the end because I believe that the rest of the story will flow a little bit better without them and believe me, you won't want any of my incessant babbling ruining the mood. Trust me. **

**I will try to update the rest of the story throughout Thanksgiving break, but I have been given a lot of homework and I need to start studying for finals :/ **

**So as a final word for now, until the end, PEACE! **

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><p><span>Chapter 19: A Promise <span>

_One week later… _

Sesshomaru and his friends were all at his palace getting ready for their graduation ceremony. InuYasha and Hirota had already left for school but since the 13th years were graduating, they didn't have to be in the building until about an hour before the ceremony, which would take place at 12:00pm. It was currently 9:30am.

They all had matching kimonos for the graduation. These kimonos of course, reflected the school's colors, which were green and blue. Kashikoi actually chose these colors for a reason because his school allowed almost all demons of all shapes, sizes, and variety. The green represents the fertile earth and the blue represents the freedom of the skies and waters. Thus, all demons of land, water, and air come to learn at his school.

The boys were wearing blue kimonos and the girls were wearing green kimonos.

"Hey Sesshomaru!" Sumurai yelled. "Is this on right?"

"Uh yeah sure," Sesshomaru answered rather distractedly, not really caring to look.

"Koga, where's my obi?" Ayame shouted across the hall.

"I have it!" He answered.

"Oh okay!"

Things were chaotic as they were getting ready- nonstop shouting, losing articles of their clothing, Sumurai and Yumi had even gotten their kimonos mixed up. The only reason anyone noticed was because Yumi is significantly shorter than Sumurai- only 5'3 compared to Sumurai's 5'10 frame. So Yumi had been walking around, tripping in a kimono that dragged about six inches on the floor and Sumurai was stuck and being squeezed to death in a kimono that was way too small for her.

"I CAN'T FEEL MY BOOBS!" She had yelled.

"That's because the kimono is dangerously tight," Naraku pointed out.

Sumurai squeaked.

_10:00am _

"You guys ready to go?" InuTaisho yelled to the hectic bunch in his living room.

"Yeah, we're ready," Sesshomaru replied.

The group stumbled over to the great dog lord and his wife, still trying to get every piece of clothing on perfectly.

"Oh I'm so proud of you guys!" Izayoi gushed as she gave each demon a bear hug.

"Yeah yeah," Sesshomaru bypassed her hug and stood next to Sumurai.

"I can't tell you how proud I am of you guys and all your hard work these past years."

"Thank you, Lord InuTaisho," the group chanted.

"I know you guys will do great things in life," he continued. "Maybe one day, you will all be successful like me." He smiled at them as the group chuckled. "I know Sesshomaru will, and Sumurai, Koga, and Ayame. What about the rest of you?"

"Oh I'm probably just going to explore," Lian answered.

"Us too," Moku and Shakudo replied.

"Yumi," Izayoi called for the guinea pig's attention. "Aren't you also a princess of your tribe?"

"Yes, my lady," she answered.

"So you will be taking over?"

"Most likely."

She smiled and chuckled. "Naraku's going to miss you a lot, I'll bet."

"I hope so!" Both women laughed.

Naraku took Yumi's hand.

"Naraku," Lord InuTaisho called.

"Yes, my lord?" Naraku answered.

"You are destined to do great things, my boy. You're very powerful- don't abuse that. Okay?"

Naraku stared at InuTaisho. The dog lord smiled.

Naraku smiled back. "I won't."

"Good." InuTaisho and Izayoi led the group to their biggest, most luxurious carriage they had. It was only fitting that the son of the great dog general, InuTaisho, and his friends who were graduating from demon school and would officially become adults, to arrive at the ceremony in such tremendous fashion.

The carriage was large and orb shaped. The whole thing was painted white with gold trimmings. The carriage was drawn by four large dog demons. The demons had white fluffy fur and were adorned in bright purple harnesses laced in gold.

When they approached the school, heads upturned and loud noises of admiration, awe, and wonder escaped the gaping mouths of the students. Yes indeed, a truly grand entrance- perfectly befitting the prince of the Western Lands.

_Summer…_

"OW! OW! OW! SESSHOMARU LAY OFF!" InuYasha was being pounded into the wall by his older brother, the aftermath of having attempted destruction upon the elder dog's pelt.

"You need to learn your place, filthy half breed," Sesshomaru insulted his younger brother after kicking his rear and shoving his body further into the wall.

"Sesshomaru!" Sumurai and Lian came to InuYasha's rescue. They both pulled him out of the wall and tried to help dust him off and check for injury but InuYasha just trudged past them, looking angrier than he's ever been.

Sesshomaru was going to be leaving home to travel in a few weeks and it seems as though he's trying to make InuYasha's life as impossible as he could until he departs.

_That sick bastard,_ InuYasha thought venomously. _I can't wait 'til he's gone. _

Naraku came over to InuYasha from Yumi.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." InuYasha answered.

Naraku caught InuYasha trying to make a certain ice king blow up with his eyes.

"I can understand why you're so angry," Naraku explained.

"Hmph, wouldn't you be if you had an older sibling who treated you like crap because of what you are? To be humiliated and physically and emotionally hurt everyday by said sibling, all because he or she deems you unworthy of life? Yeah, it's hell. Every day of my damn life is hell, but you would have no issues in that department, Naraku. You can hold your own quite well against demons like Sesshomaru. Hell, you never encounter problems like mine because of that. So don't think that you have the gall to just stand there and tell me that you even remotely understand what I'm going through!"

Naraku stared at InuYasha as he glared back at him.

"You're right. I don't understand. But I can say this: you don't have to let your life be full of misery, pain, and hell. It doesn't have to be that way. What you have to do, is to not let people walk all over you. You need to stand up for yourself, train as hard as you can, and get as strong as you can. But what you need to remember is that friends can help you achieve those goals, InuYasha. In numbers, you are that much stronger. When you have friends who you can trust to have your back, you can do anything. I can be one of those friends, InuYasha."

InuYasha looked at Naraku with slight understanding and astonishment in his eyes.

"You would be willing to be associated with a lowly half demon such as me? You may be a half demon Naraku, but you can gain respect instantly in high demon society because of your strength, intelligence, and your ties to Sesshomaru. Why would you want to lower yourself to befriend someone like me?"

Naraku smiled. "Be that as it may, I am still a half demon. Half demons need to stick together, don't you think? Besides, I don't see it as lowering myself, not at all. I see much potential in you, InuYasha. I can help you achieve your greatest desires and all I want in return is your trust and your friendship." Naraku extended his hand to InuYasha. "I will have your back, if you have mine."

InuYasha stared suspiciously at his hand but eventually, he took Naraku's palm in his and they shook.

"Alright." InuYasha agreed and smiled.

Naraku smiled back. "I promise you that I will always have your back. No matter how strong we may be, as half demons, we need to look out for each other. I promise I will always look out for you for the rest of our lives."

"And I promise that I will look out for you for the rest of our lives." InuYasha chuckled.

The handshake ceased, and Naraku walked back over to Yumi and InuYasha proceeded up the stairs to his bedroom.

_Later that night…_

Naraku and Yumi were winding their way through the trees behind InuTaisho's grand palace. Naraku was taking his girlfriend home, as it was the gentlemanly thing to do.

"Thank you for accompanying me home, Naraku," Yumi thanked him as they approached the approximate place where her den should be. Naraku was not truly sure of where it was exactly because it's underground and Yumi never tells him.

"Well I'm glad to, and it just means some more alone time," Naraku explained as he kissed her on the lips. She returned it and they broke apart some seconds later.

"You're right, huh?" Yumi chuckled. They kissed once more. "I'll see you tomorrow, Naraku."

"See you tomorrow, love." Naraku whispered.

Naraku left the vicinity but as he got farther away from his princess, this feeling of uneasiness washed over him and a heavy weight of dread crashed down on him. He turned and walked back to find Yumi but she had already disappeared.

Naraku continued to walk alone to his cave, with the uncomfortable feeling of dread never leaving his being.


	21. Chapter 20: The Beginning of Descent

Chapter 20: The Beginning of Descent 

_Two weeks later… _

At night, Niomi and Kihan were in their cave while Naraku was at Sesshomaru's palace. They were busy plotting.

"If Naraku's not going to do it, then _we_ will," Niomi explained.

"And you're sure about this?" Kihan asked, concerned. "What if Naraku finds out?"

"He won't find out. Don't worry about it Kihan, just leave everything to me. You help me through this, and I will make you my right hand demon."

"Wow, that's such an honor!" She gushed. "Thank you so much, Niomi!"

"Hmm… soon it shall be: _Lady_ Niomi! Oh yes, I like the sound of that!"

"As do I, my _lady_!"

Both females exchanged a hearty laugh that echoed off the walls of the dark cave. When they calmed down, Niomi gave Kihan a sharp, scarlet stare.

"You will stand by me no matter what, right Kihan?"

"Yes, Niomi. No matter what lays ahead I shall never abandon you."

"Good, good… although you do realize that we will have to do whatever it takes to get to the top? And after we get to the top?"

Kihan stared silently at Niomi. "We will have to eliminate ANYONE in our path," she continued. "and there is a strong possibility that we may have to deal with your sister along the way. Are you prepared for that?"

"Sumurai…" Kihan muttered. She was quiet for a while, pondering the chance.

"Are you prepared for that?" Niomi repeated.

Kihan continued her silent treatment until finally, after a couple of minutes of deep thought, she replied: "… Yes…" Kihan whispered so softly, Niomi could just barely hear her.

"Good. Remember this well Kihan, we are the only ones who understand each other- both pinned to the wall and held back by our younger siblings. It is their destiny to achieve great power and yet they waste it. Naraku won't pursue his destiny and Sumurai doesn't seem to be taking her responsibility too seriously. Why should they get the thrones when they are younger than us? When they flaunt their power around like it means nothing? Does the word, _ignorant_ come to mind, Kihan?"

"Niomi, what will you do with Naraku?" Kihan ignored her friend's question.

"Simple: we will kill him. Surely you suspected as much." Niomi blatantly replied.

"And you're sure about this?"

"Kihan, the only way I can officially take over as DemonKiller is if Naraku is unable to, and well, he can't if he's dead."

"And you're absolutely sure you want to do this?"

"Yes, and you are too, Kihan. There will be no turning back after this. Are you ready?"

There was a long period of silence. Finally Kihan answered: "… I'm ready."

_Two weeks later…_

"Wow, Naraku's been really depressed lately," Koga observed.

"Yeah, I know," Sesshomaru agreed.

"Obviously it's because Yumi's disappeared," Lian stated.

"Yeah, she's been gone for almost a whole month," Sumurai agreed sadly. "I wonder what happened."

"Naraku took her home the night of our graduation and she's been missing ever since," Moku explained.

"Do you think something bad happened to her?" Shakudo asked worriedly.

"I find it hard to believe that," Sumurai replied. "She's an incredibly skilled fighter and terribly strong despite her size. Plus, she's a guinea pig demon. She could definitely hold her own against some lowly demon. Besides, didn't Naraku drop her off like, right above her home? All she would have to do would be to tunnel down below."

"Exactly," Lian agreed. "Maybe Yumi's clan had to relocate somewhere or something came up. Maybe they had to leave the area for some reason and Yumi had to go along with them."

Naraku had been sitting alone in one of Sesshomaru's chairs and he looked up at Lian when he finished. "Don't you think she would have told me that was the case instead of just leaving like that?" His tone was very pained.

"Maybe there wasn't any way she could, that's what I'm trying to get at here," Lian explained.

Naraku stood up. "I'm going to go looking again."

"Naraku you've been searching for her ever since she disappeared. If she was in the area, I think you would have found her by now," Moku pointed out.

"SHUT UP! You don't know that!" Naraku's eyes seethed with rage and he leaped out of one of Sesshomaru's palace windows and took off through the trees down below.

"… Geez, hot head much?" Moku insulted. He was quite annoyed with Naraku's retort.

"Can you blame him Moku?" Sumurai asked him. "He loves Yumi. Can you even imagine what it would be like to lose the one person you truly care for?"

"I suppose you're right. Maybe what I said was pretty rude." Moku agreed. He did feel bad for what he said, and he hated seeing Naraku as such a pathetic mess.

"Actually I have to say that I agree with what you said, Moku," Sesshomaru stated. "If Yumi _was_ in the area, Naraku would have found her by now. However, I don't believe that she isn't around at all. Maybe Lian was also right, and she and her family had to relocate somewhere else for some reason. I highly doubt that something bad has happened to her- I'm sure she's out there somewhere."

_One month later…_

A crowded bar full of demons drinking and having a good time.

Two female demons, one lion and one spider enter its threshold. Dressed in black cloaks and faces hidden beneath black hoods, they bypass all the rude fellows that are whistling and cat-calling them and make their way to the bar. They sit down on a couple of stools and attract the attention of the bar tender.

The bar tender was a slim demon. He had wine colored eyes and yellow tinted skin and very dark yellow hair that hung down to his waist. It was tied up in a pony tail so it would not disturb the drinks that he prepared. On the left side of his mouth, a small, razor sharp fang was permanently protruded, and embedded in it was a thick scar.

"Two martinis on the rocks, please," the lioness ordered.

"Certainly." The waiter made his way to the shelves behind him and began the order. He skillfully pulled out the ones he needed and began shaking together the drinks. For some unknown reason, he added quite a bit of extra liquor to one of the drinks- far more than what was needed.

Once the martinis were completed, he set them down in front of the two demonesses and collected their payment. He made sure that the drink with extra alcohol was in front of the spider demoness. Once done, he swiftly turned away.

The two females slightly lifted their glasses and clinked them together.

"To your completion of training," the lioness toasted.

They both took a drink and set them down.

"I must admit, I was a bit surprised that you came to me for help and I'm proud that you stuck with the training. You must feel proud of yourself as well," the lion demon confessed.

"I am, but I am also grateful that you took the time to train me. I know I'm not the most powerful of individuals nor am I particularly easy to teach," the spider demon admitted.

"It was no trouble at all," the lioness reassured.

They clinked their glasses a second time and drank.

_Thirty minutes later…_

The spider demoness clunked her glass down rather clumsily. Only one martini and already she was smashed- must be because of the extra alcohol shots. The lioness looked at her questionably.

"Heyy, lisshenn," she slurred.

"What?" She asked.

She started incoherently muttering about something so the lion demon turned to attract the attention of their waiter and demand to know what he had put in her drink- they were not here to get drunk. Merely, they were here to celebrate the end of her friend's training.

When she finally spotted him, after observing for a few seconds, she turned back around to face her drunken friend because he seemed a bit preoccupied with another order. No matter- she could wait until he was done.

"Heyy, lisshenn," the spider repeated.

The lioness showed her that she had her full attention, but only half listened to her rather unintelligent speech.

Finally, the spider looked at the lion in the eyes, as unfocused as they were, and she clearly had something she wanted to say.

"Heyy, lisshenn," she repeated once more.

"Yes, Niomi?" The lioness asked.

"I have a shecrett!" She declared.

"A secret?"

"YESH!"

"What is it?"

"Well, yur one of my beshtesht friends, sho I'm gonna let you in on it."

"Okay." The lioness waited patiently, though only really half interested in whatever she had to say. However, what she _did_ say, caused her mind to blank out.

"I'm gonna be the nexsht DemonKiller!"

In fact, the lioness sputtered in her drink. "What?" She managed to choke out.

"That wash wut thish training wus fer, of coursh! I'm gonna take my cousin's place ash DemonKiller, cush we all know _he_ won't do it himshelf!" Niomi ranted.

"You're going to take Naraku's place as the DemonKiller? How?" The lioness pressed her highly incapacitated friend.

"Whyy, I'm gooin to KILL him of coursh!"

The lioness gripped her glass so hard it shattered into a thousand pieces. They sprinkled the wooden floor below them, and reflected Sumurai's immensely shocked feautres as they descended.


	22. Chapter 21: Everything Falls Apart

Chapter 21: Everything Falls Apart

_One week later…_

Naraku had spent the last couple days still on the search for his beloved Yumi. When his search ended yet again with no avail, he returned back to his cave.

With each passing day, Naraku was growing more and more desperate and he was also losing more and more hope that Yumi was even alive. While it was true she could literally be anywhere in the country, he just couldn't shake the feeling that something had happened. Perhaps that was his paranoia talking.

When Naraku finally reached his cave, a strange scent assaulted his nostrils- a very vile, putrid scent. He entered the cave and immediately discovered what was making that disgusting odor.

He saw them and his eyes widened so much they threatened to pop out of his head. His body began to shake and he backed up towards the wall of the cave. He supported his weight by leaning his back against it but he quickly slid to the floor. He was overwhelmed by the smell of death and decay.

Lying in the middle of his cave, were two dead and heavily decaying bodies. Naraku immediately recognized them. They belonged to Niomi and Kihan.

"Omigod… Wha-what happened here?" Naraku asked to no one in particular.

Naraku couldn't believe he was seeing the sight before him. He couldn't believe that his cousin and one of his friends were laying stiff and cold before him.

Finally, he gathered up the courage to inspect them and find out what killed them. He didn't have to get too close to find out.

He saw that their bodies were riddled with large wounds in the shape of claws. They were engraved in their chests, their stomachs, arms and legs, and their necks and faces. It was clear to Naraku that they had been murdered and that their deaths, most likely, much to his rage and horror, were not quick. He could imagine that they had suffered horribly and that whoever had killed them made sure that they did.

The only questions left would be: who and why? Who could have killed them, and in such a violent manner? Why? Those questions circulated in his head repeatedly until a voice from just outside the cave impeded them.

"It was Sumurai," the voice stated as if he knew what Naraku was thinking.

Naraku whirled around and found himself face-to-face with Lian. Lian was staring down at Naraku, his eyes occasionally drifting to the rotting corpses. His normal fun, happy demeanor was replaced with a cold, stoic one. You could see nothing in his eyes- no emotion. Maybe not even life was reflected in those aqua blue orbs.

"What?" Naraku asked him.

"It was Sumurai," he repeated. "Sumurai killed them."

"No…" Naraku denied. "She would never do something like this… especially not to me!"

"She did."

"Shut up! What do you even know about it?"

Lian's eyes narrowed slightly. "I know everything about it. I… probably should have told you before. I knew that I should have but… I never thought it would end like this. Sure it's what they do but I never thought Sumurai was capable of doing something like this to you or to her own sister."

"What are you talking about?" Naraku was totally confused as to what Lian was saying.

"Sumurai is a Demon Trainer, Naraku," Lian elaborated. It was a wonder how Naraku's eyes could expand even further than they already were.

"That's a lie!" He angrily shouted at Lian. "She would never stoop to something so low and disgusting! She also denied that rumor years ago when Ruka circulated it through the school!"

"Of course she would deny it, Naraku. You would too… if someone accused you of being the DemonKiller."

Naraku's eyes immediately deflated from enlarged orbs to needle-thin slits. "What do know, Lian? Tell me everything, don't leave anything out, and don't you dare try to lie to me."

"Of course, Naraku, but I would think it useless to try to use fear tactics on me- those stopped being effective long ago."

"You're being vague again." Naraku was growing exceedingly impatient. Were it not for the fact that Lian seemed to hold vital information, he would have beheaded him long before this. "Quit dodging the point and explain, NOW."

"I know everything about you, Naraku. I know about your secret and I know what you had originally planned when you met us."

"You… you knew?"

"Yes. I also recognized you the first moment I laid eyes on you. That day when you first came to this school, I knew that you were the DemonKiller."

"How?"

"I don't think how or why is really all that important, Naraku. I suppose I should get to what you really want to hear."

"Yes, perhaps you should."

"I know that Sumurai is a Demon Trainer because I had witnessed her killing another demon- a much younger half demon. Just before the hanyou perished, he looked up at her and asked why, after everything she had done for him, she was doing this. She didn't answer. Instead, she drove her claws through his skull and ripped the top plate of it completely out of his head."

"She what?"

"I know, it's strange isn't it? For most moments, she seems so innocent she wouldn't even hurt a fly, but in others she suddenly morphs into this horrifying creature. Although, the manner of the demon's death didn't take me by surprise- you and I both know just how violent she really is Naraku. As much as we hate to admit it, she just isn't the Sumurai that we want to believe she is. We are both aware of what exactly she is capable of and what she can do when she really wants to. It is because of that fact that we try to ignore it and live pretending that she is who we want her to be- a sweet, naïve girl who only wants the best for everyone around her. However as much as it pains me to say Naraku, that just isn't the case. The Sumurai we thought we knew was simply a mirage- it wasn't real and here's the proof. It's far too late to keep ignoring it now, far too late. There's nothing else we can do to convince ourselves that she isn't bad-natured. She _is_ Naraku, and we cannot deny it any further. Something must be done."

"I don't understand… what does Sumurai being a Demon Trainer have anything to do with Niomi, much less her sister?"

"Everything."

"If you think I can read your mind, think again."

"Niomi was one of the demons training under her."

"What? I was never aware of this- she never told me."

"They must have kept their sessions private then. But I did see Niomi and Sumurai training together about two weeks ago, and Sumurai was using the exact same tactics typical of a Demon Trainer."

"So…" Naraku pieced it together. "Sumurai killed Niomi because they had completed training… and now she had to eliminate her?"

"Precisely."

"But what about Kihan? Why would she kill her own sister?"

"… I'm not entirely sure. It could've been for a number of reasons. But I think the more likely ones were that either she found out about Sumurai's hobby and attempted to exploit her or deal with her in her own manner, or she caught her killing Niomi so Sumurai then had to silence her before she could rat her out."

"Each scenario just seems less likely than the last."

"I know it's painful that Sumurai would murder someone so close to you and even go so far as to kill her own flesh and blood in order to cover it up."

"She was the only family I had… how could she?"

"I'm sorry. I wished I could've done something. I was walking through here earlier and I saw her leaving the cave covered in blood. I went to investigate but I was too late- they were already dead. I'm sorry, I wish I could've been here sooner."

Naraku was completely silent. His rage and betrayal whirled throughout his body and threatened to burst out at any moment. As if sensing this danger, Lian backed up from Naraku.

"She… left them in here… for me to find. She knew I would find them when I came back… Why?" Now Naraku was shaking with anger. His aura pulsated and emanated a nasty pinkish purple hue. It grew stronger and Lian backed up fully out of the cave.

"There's only one thing you can do now, Naraku," Lian explained to him. "I know it hurts, but soon it will fade into nothing more than a dull numb before withering away completely.

Naraku was silent. Lian took a few final moments to stare at him before finishing.

"You know what you have to do," he concluded before leaping away from the cave and disappearing among the trees.

Naraku sat in his cave, seething in his rage. He felt so betrayed. How could she do this to him? How could she do this to her own sister? Why?

He was so angry, he could cry.

After about ten minutes of contemplating the horror of the situation and the mixed up emotions that he harbored, he still couldn't reach a conclusion. In fact, the longer he sat thinking about it, the more he realized that he wasn't calming down, not in the least. If anything, he was getting angrier.

He could feel the hatred bubbling up in his body, the anger boiling in his blood, and an overwhelming sadness seethed and steamed in his eyes. The normally milky white pupils were suddenly painted over red in one swift motion. The red stains rolled across his pupils like ocean waves.

He felt his emotions spiraling out of control; his aura pulsed and grew larger and more tainted.

It was painful- emotionally. He could do nothing to stop the feelings of pain and anguish as they slowly poisoned his body and cloaked his heart, which was steadily beating faster and faster.

After a while, he could feel those waves of emotions slowly burning away and as they dissipated, they were replaced by a hollow, empty sensation. It started in the pit of his heart and spread madly and quickly throughout the rest of his body like a disease, corrupting everything it came into contact with. It plunged and drowned it all into darkness.

Almost immediately after, his aura shot out of control and all his pent-up malice contained within escaped and began to swirl around him. Naraku began to lose sight of who he was and all recognition of right and wrong. He gradually lost himself in his small, dark world until there was nothing left that could identify him of being the man he once was.

He was gone; lost.

Naraku emerged from his cave and shot in the direction in which the target of all his anger and hatred was currently residing.

Sumurai.


	23. Chapter 22: Everything Falls Apart II

Chapter 22: Everything Falls Apart II 

Sumurai stood at the edge of Death's Gorge, staring out at the horizon. Her long blonde hair slightly fanned out behind her, swaying in the wind. Her bright blue eyes scanned the surrounding area until they locked on the setting sun. She sighed.

The sun was steadily descending, setting graceful shadows that danced through the trees and slowly retracted across the ground. In a few minutes, they would no longer be there to see. They would disappear into the night and not dare to peek out until the sun returned.

Sumurai watched the sun for another few seconds before shifting her gaze lower. She stared into the gorge.

She lightly kicked a loose stone into its depths. She watched it fall for what seemed like hours before, just faintly, she heard it crack on the ground below- shattering to dust. She began to wonder what would happen if _she_ fell into its seemingly bottomless pit?

_Would I shatter into nothing like that stone?_ She thought. She took a step closer to the very edge and peered farther down into it. She felt the pull of gravity, almost as if it knew of her sin and wished to help her atone for it.

She took another step and accidentally kicked some dirt and rock down into the gorge. The clattering of the rocks at the bottom snapped the lioness out of her daze. She blinked and took a few steps backward from the cliff's edge.

Almost simultaneous with her actions, the tree leaves fell and twigs cracked. Soon Sumurai felt that she was no longer alone. But before she could turn around, with no warning of its intentions, a dark entity cut her down.

Its incredibly sharp claws flew across her back, shredding long paths as they traveled. Blood flowed from her body and splashed everything it came into contact with- including the face of her attacker.

Sumurai fell to her hands and knees. She shuddered as the blood drained from her back and soaked her kimono. Her entire backside was completely drenched in the thick red substance. Her skin paled almost immediately and her breathing came ragged and sharp. She swiftly turned her head to view her attacker when she was sliced across her chest.

She fell the other way; onto her back. But now she could see her assassin.

The setting sun illuminated his features, making him seem almost angelic. But nothing about his appearance was angelic at all. His pale face was marred with anger and hatred; his sharp eyes portrayed nothing but his own despair through bright red tunnels; and his entire body, from his face all the way down his dark purple kimono, was doused with the lion demon's blood. His long, curly black hair was kept in its pony tail, but was also lightly spotted with blood.

Sumurai's eyes nearly bulged out of her head as she instantly recognized her attacker.

"… Naraku?" She whispered.

He did not answer her. His eyes bore into hers as he swooped down for another attack.

Sumurai leapt to her feet and over Naraku as he lunged for her. She landed on her feet but when she turned around, Naraku lashed at her, widening the wounds on her chest.

Sumurai fell to her knees, clutching her chest and groaning softly at the pain. Her kimono was completely ruined. It was shredded beyond repair and stained top to bottom from her blood leaking through. She was bleeding so much she left lakes of red with every step she took. It was almost a wonder she was still conscious.

Sumurai stood and regained her footing. Naraku finally gave her time to catch her breath as she panted and stared straight into his eyes.

"Naraku…please," She began. "Listen to me. I know what you may be thinking right now, but you _have_ to believe me… I… I had no other choice…"

At those words, Naraku's eyes flashed dangerously and attacked her once more. Sumurai managed to just barely dodge the attack due to her amazing feline agility. However, her strength was incredibly weakened, and the amount of distance she put between them was not enough. Naraku leaped at her again and was able to slash her abdomen.

She stumbled backwards pressing her hands to her bleeding belly. "NARAKU, PLEASE! LISTEN TO ME!" She shrieked at him. "You don't understand! Let me explain!"

He refused to listen. It was almost as if he couldn't even hear her at all. He ran towards her and slashed.

Sumurai ducked out of the way of his claws in the nick of time. She hopped backwards from Naraku and landed about eighteen feet away from him. When she landed, her knees buckled beneath her and she collapsed back onto her hands. All of her strength was leaving her. She knew she wouldn't last much longer if this fight continued. She turned towards the forest and took off in its direction.

Naraku refused to let her escape so he leapt in front of her and blocked her path. His eyes still stubbornly refused to relinquish their madness. He lashed out again but Sumurai leapt backwards once more. Her eyes moved to the back of her head as she looked behind her and realized that she was back at the cliff's edge. For some strange reason, the memory of the rock falling down the gorge came back to her.

The lioness was covered head to foot in gashes and blood. Her skin was even paler and it was clear that she was having an extremely difficult time keeping her balance. Now it really _was_ a wonder how she was still conscious.

Her vision also began to blur and she could no longer focus clearly on Naraku's advancing form. She was dizzy from blood loss and her head swam in confusion, pain, and bewilderment. She knew why Naraku was hurting her and she almost didn't blame him. But if he would just let her explain why she did what she did, she knew that this could be patched up. He would understand… right?

But why was he not even letting her explain? It was almost like he was in an entirely different world.

_He does not seem to be in his right mind…_ Sumurai concluded, staring into his eyes which were full to the brim with hatred and emotional pain.

She had to stop this. It did not seem like she would be able to escape through the trees. _There is no way for me to escape at all… unless… _

She looked behind her at the gorge. Perhaps she could lose him and get help for the both of them by going down its crevice. However, it would be extremely dangerous to go that route because of her current lack of focus and mobility. She could very easily trip or slip and plummet down. She was not entirely positive she could survive a fall of this caliber. And of course, add the fact that she was wounded so badly already.

She looked back at Naraku to find him getting closer to her; raising his claws. Sumurai took another cautious step back. She looked straight into his eyes.

"Na-Naraku, p-please, you mu-must l-listen to m-me," she pleaded. "You-you ha-have to. I-I can explain m-my actions a-and I have a-a g-good re-reason f-for doing wha-what I-I d-did." Her voice shook so badly because of the immense pain she was currently suffering but Naraku was able to make out enough of it. He slowly put down his claws.

"I-I… I _had_ to, Naraku," she continued, grateful for him finally listening. "If… if I didn't… th-they w-would have…" She was unable to continue because she began to cough up blood.

While she was coughing viciously, something began to materialize on the left side of Naraku's body- Something long, thin, and black. It arched up behind him so Sumurai could not see it.

Finally, when her coughing fit had ceased, she looked back up at Naraku and tried her best to continue. She had fallen back down to her knees during her hacking but found that she had little strength to stand back up, so she settled for her current position.

"You…y-you s-s-see… Na-Naraku… I-I _h-had_ t-to k-kill th-them, be-bec-because…" Even her voice was losing its strength and was growing softer and coarser by the word. She looked back up into Naraku's eyes to see if he was still listening but it did her a small amount of good- her vision had almost completely left her. Now he was nothing but a large blur of color, but she could still make out the pair of red eyes contrasting against the fuzzy image… and something else- something long and dark in color.

She squinted her eyes at it, trying to figure out what it was. She shakily stood up to get a better look and as soon as her knees left the ground, she got a perfect view of it- for as she stood up, it impaled her chest.

Sumurai's eyes nearly exploded with shock. In contrast, Naraku's eyes no longer harbored any sort of emotion- they were completely empty- devoid of the pain they were in just mere moments ago.

The long black object turned out to be an appendage- a long, narrow, jet black spider leg. Naraku had jetted it forward and right through the lioness's chest. The force of its impact was enough to thrust her over the edge of the cliff. She was now at his mercy. She was dangling over the side of Death's Gorge, only being held up by the spider leg.

Sumurai stared down at the leg with shock and then looked back up at Naraku with horror evident in her sapphire orbs.

She silently pleaded with him to bring her back. She could no longer make any sound. Her voice had abandoned her and her limbs refused to do her bidding. Her vision clouded up even more, and her skin turned to the color of water as the blood from her body rained down the gorge.

"Na…ra…ku…" she forced his name from her mouth in another plea but it was blatantly ignored.

Sumurai's eyes enlarged once more when Naraku released her from his grasp. He slowly pulled his appendage out of her chest, leaving the lion demon floating in the air for half a second before she plummeted.

She looked up as he looked down. Sorrow filled eyes met empty ones. Tears began to well and fall as the lioness descended.

_Down... down... down._


	24. Chapter 23: Their Final Knells

Chapter 23: Their Final Knells

_The sun set; night had befallen upon the land; the moonlight bathed the valley and streamed into Death's Gorge, illuminating the pool of liquid at its bottom. The pool stretched out seven feet all around its host- a young lioness… _

Sumurai was lying on her back at the bottom of the gorge. Her blood seeped out of her body and pooled around her. Her skin was completely colorless and her body almost torn beyond recognition. Blood even poured out of her mouth and eyes.

Despite her injuries and the 500 foot fall, life still clung to her. She demonstrated this with slow, uneven breathing and by opening her eyes slightly.

She slowly tilted her head side to side but it gave her a head-splitting migraine. She found that she could no longer move any other part of her body. Completely immobile and helpless, Sumurai rested against the cold, blood-drenched ground.

She recalled the events and finally, began to weep. However, her tears were no longer water. Rather, the liquid currently escaping her once vibrant blue eyes was blood.

Her bloody tears ran down her delicate cheeks and stained them crimson.

_How could he?_ She vainly asked herself. _How could he do this to me? To _us_? What will Sesshomaru and the others do when they find out what happened? Will I… will I be dead by then?_

She was no fool. She knew that she was dying and there was nothing she could do. She could not move nor call for help. She was a sitting duck. Either she would slowly die on her own, or another demon would come by and pick her off.

Since neither option sounded good to her, she decided to take her fate into her own hands.

Reaching up with a shaking hand, she grasped at an ornament that adorned her slender neck underneath her kimono. She pulled harshly and tore it right off her neck.

She held the jewelry in front of her face. It was a necklace of pearls and a big ruby sparkling in the center of it. Engraved in the jewel, was the carving of a spider. Naraku had given her this necklace for her 16th birthday and she had cherished it ever since. The jewelry never left her neck even when she bathed- it was too precious.

Now the necklace was simply a jest. What was once an object of love and happiness, now was an object of mock sympathy and reminded her of nothing but Naraku's betrayal. It hurt her most to recall that there was once a time where it reminded her of Naraku's devoted friendship and loyalty. Was it all a lie? Should she have cast him out like her mother had always told her to do?

She knew he was the DemonKiller and yet she thought that she had felt something different in him. Her mother always knew too and they constantly argued about their friendship. Lady Tekkei would always yell at her to break off their contact but she would always ask "why."

She would argue that he was the DemonKiller and he would bring her nothing but trouble and despair. Sumurai would always counter with something along the lines of him being "different" or "pure."

Sumurai always believed that Naraku was nothing like his past lives and she always had faith that he would choose the right path. Now she could see that she was wrong. For over a decade, she had been wrong. All those years, he had deceived Sumurai and her friends. And now she was to pay for her foolishness with her life.

If only she could live so she could warn Sesshomaru and the others about Naraku but alas, it was too late for that. It was too late for _her_.

Tears continued to fall as she wrapped her weak, slender fingers around the necklace. She closed her eyes, extinguishing the last of her tears. Her body then began to glow and soon the necklace followed suit.

Sumurai's aura, a deep emerald green, was traveling from her body to the necklace.

She knew very well that no one would come in time to save her and even if that did happen, Naraku would soon learn of her health and return to finish what he started. Frankly, she did not want to have to deal with that. She didn't think she would even have the strength to deal with it. It hurt too much.

_Naraku, was everything you said a lie? You said a long time ago that you would always be there to protect me and that you would never do anything to hurt me. Why did you go back on that promise? Why have you hurt me? I understand that what I have done was wrong but it was for YOU. _

_I always promised you that one day, I would return your kindness and pay my debt to you for saving my life. So I did. If I had not killed them, Naraku, you would have…_

Her head swam with exhaustion and she knew at once that she was leaving this world. The rest of her strength, whatever life force she still maintained inside her body was being transferred into her necklace. She was literally draining her life in order to die that much faster.

Finally, the light around her body began to dim as the glow around the necklace grew brighter. Sumurai could feel her strength, her very life, beginning to exhaust and disappear.

She wondered what it would feel like for her soul to leave this world. She was not particularly religious so she tended to believe that there was nothing when you die. Just cold emptiness- like the way it was right before you were born.

The light around the necklace finally began to dim as well and the light enveloping Sumurai's body was virtually nonexistent. With one last weak glance to the black, star filled sky above her, she prayed for the safety and happiness of each and every one of her friends.

As the full moon came into perfect view from behind a spot of cloud, it shrouded the beautiful lioness in its curtain of holy light, and the glow that was once her life vanished from both herself and from her necklace. Her eyes drifted shut as her breathing slowed to a subtle stop.

Gone but most certainly not forgotten, for her legacy will always live on fondly in the hearts of those who take the time to remember such a wonderful woman.

The curtain was down on her performance of life, and as if illustrating this, a blanket of clouds re-shrouded the moon, disconnecting its rays from the lioness's still form.

_Meanwhile…_

Many miles north of the valley and up a certain holy mountain, lay a cave. Inhabiting the cave was a presence no more alive than Sumurai- Naraku.

Naraku, staked to the wall with a self inflicted spider leg, slept seemingly peacefully. However, no one but Naraku will ever know or even come close to understanding the true nature of his situation, much less his feelings about it.

His intent will be shrouded in mystery, for now.

Until the time comes when it can be fully understood, they will all just have to settle for a simple tragic turn of events. Something that never should have happened had the communication been more clear and concise.

Until the time comes when their feelings can be truly understood without criticism or judgment, it will be interpreted as ignorance and foolishness.

Until the time comes, it will simply be another entry in the history books, documenting yet another event involving the DemonKiller and some tragic death of a woman who foolishly came into contact with him.

Until the time comes, the DemonKiller will be marked as "dead," and many a fool will live on believing that their lives are safe and secure at last with no underlying threat taking hold on their hearts and feasting on their fear.

Those lives, the lives of their friends, will live on peacefully and in ignorance… for now.

* * *

><p><strong>AN****: Welcome back, everyone! ****Yup, you guessed it: This is The End! **

**I think there were some parts where the wording doesn't quite make sense but W/E it's 3AM over here, I'm supposed to be studying for finals, and I'm as tired and sick as hell, WHO CARES? I DON'T! **

**LOL sorry about that. **

**Anyway, I want to take this time to give a hand to Shesshybabe123 b/c her consistant reviewing kept inspiring me to write! XD You should check out her stories too- one in particular: lOVE IS SO OVERRATED which is a pirate themed Inu/Kag fic and it's very good :D **

**Also feel free to check out my other Inu/Kag fics and if you're a Kuroshitsuji fan, check out my Sebby/Ciel fic! :D**

**They are only 1-3 chapters in for each of them but I would really appreciate feedback on them ;D **

**Come to think of it, I'd also like feedback on this one too :O **

**So anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the ride! ;D**

**Thank you all so much for sticking this one out to the end, and for the final time in this story: **

**Reviews please! :D **


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